Three weeks ago, Bobby Petrino said Reggie Bonnafon would be Louisville’s quarterback if the season opened July 27.
Well, with a little less than three weeks until the Cardinals' opener against No. 7 Auburn on Sept. 5, Petrino has publicly stepped back from that proclamation.
Following a weekend scrimmage, Petrino told reporters he is in “no hurry” to name a starter among candidates Kyle Bolin, Bonnafon and Will Gardner, who tore an ACL during the 2014 season. The Louisville Courier-Journal wrote the scrimmage of 175 snaps consisted mostly of passing plays as a way to gauge the quarterbacks’ progress.
"We're in no hurry to make any decisions there," Petrino said. "I mean, one day, one guy completes 75 percent of his passes in practice and another guy has a little off day, so we've kind of been back and forth.”
Petrino said he feels much better about his quarterback situation than he did this time a year ago when he was looking for Teddy Bridgewater's replacement. All three quarterbacks led the Cardinals to a win last season.
Bonnafon, who took control of the competition exiting the spring, and Gardner are the two favorites to land the position. Gardner missed the spring rehabbing his knee, but he’s inserted himself back into the race during preseason practice. Gardner said he “feels better now than I have” despite coming off the severe injury.
Bonnafon, a local product, is continuing to build off a solid spring and is developing as a passer.
There are two different schools of thought as far as preseason quarterback competitions go, and the advantages and disadvantages to each might be overblown. The one idea is to keep a lid on who the quarterback will be and leave the opponent guessing. Auburn’s defense wasn’t very good last season and has a new defensive coordinator, which could cause issues early. The other thought is to name a No. 1 and give him the title so the rest of the offense knows who to look to, and then that quarterback has ample time to build a rapport with the unit before the season starts.
The Courier-Journal writes Petrino said previously he would like to name a starter two weeks before the opener, but we’ll have to wait and see which approach Petrino prefers.