Four reasons why BYU needs to strategically deploy Gerry Bohanon against Baylor
By D.A. Sweat
BYU travels to Baylor tomorrow to face off against the Bears in a pivotal game for Kalani Sitake’s squad. A conference victory on the road would put the Cougars at 2-0 in conference play and likely vault the No. 22 team in the country into the Top 20. There’s one wrinkle BYU can throw at Baylor to help the Cougs pick up a huge win:
Strategically deploy Gerry Bohanon!
Bohanon is a true dual-threat weapon and if smartly used in short yardage situations could do for BYU what Taysom Hill does for the New Orleans Saints. By “deploy Gerry Bohanon” I’m talking about giving him maybe four or five strategic carries on the right downs and distances. Offensive Coordinator Aaron Roderick has essentially kept Bohanon in bubble wrap thus far, but there are four reasons why this is the week to get Gerry on the field:
- BYU’s running back room is a MASH unit
- The Cougs are downright bad on third-and-short
- BYU must protect Jake Retzlaff
- Harness the power of the Gerry Bohanon revenge game!
The Running Back MASH Unit
BYU’s running back room seems to have fallen victim to a voodoo curse. All four of the team’s top running backs - LJ Martin, Hinckley Ropati, Enoch Nawahine, and now Sione I Moa - are all currently dealing with injury issues. The next two guys up are converted wide receiver Miles Davis, a player who has tumbled down the depth chart and didn’t get a carry last week, and Pokaiaua Haunga, an exciting but unproven freshman.
While Gerry Bohanon is a quarterback, at 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds he’s also a bulldozer who can grind out tough yards, similar to Taysom Hill. Giving Bohanon a few option packages could do for BYU what Taysom Hill does for the New Orleans Saints.
The “Third-and-Short” Conundrum
As I’ve already written about, BYU’s offense has been downright abysmal on third-and-short situations. Prior to the Kansas State win BYU’s offense had converted just 4-of-12 situations in which they faced third down with three yards or less remaining. Putting Gerry Bohanon at quarterback on third-and-two, for example, and calling an option play just seems like a cheat code to pick up an easy first down.
Protect Jake Retzlaff!
Through four games quarterback Jake Retzlaff is BYU’s leading rusher on the season. That’s not ideal. Retzlaff has developed nicely this year and much of the Cougars fortunes will rise and fall with how well he plays. The fastest way for BYU to throw away a potentially magical season is to rely too heavily on Retzlaff as a runner, expose him to hits, and have him get injured.
Sure, if BYU puts Gerry Bohanon under center in an “and short” situation it signals to the defense it’s likely going to be a running play. Even then, good luck stopping him. For BYU's long-term success, it's smarter to expose Bohanon to those hits than Jake Retzlaff.
Bohanon’s Revenge!
Playing at Baylor is the ultimate Gerry Bohanon revenge game! Bohanon spent four years at Baylor from 2018 to 2021 before transferring to USF then to BYU. Letting Bohanon pick up a couple of key first downs at the school that benched him after leading them to the Bears to the 2021 Big 12 championship would be poetic justice. Bohanon’s juices are going to be flowing in his return to Waco, and heaven help any defender who tries to solo tackle him on Saturday.
In the end, playing at Baylor is a huge game for BYU and getting to 5-0 justifiably puts the Cougs firmly in the CFP playoff discussions. Most predictive models and betting lines have this contest as essentially a 50-50 proposition so Aaron Roderick needs to use every weapon at his disposal to secure a season-altering conference road victory.
If BYU wants to leave Waco with a W:
It’s time to strategically deploy Gerry Bohanon!
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