Logan Bonner is still Utah State’s starting quarterback.
At least for now.
Utah State head coach Blake Anderson reaffirmed Bonner’s status Monday, despite the veteran quarterback’s struggles through the opening weeks of the season.
Through three games, Bonner has thrown for only 440 total yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, and holds a dismal quarterback rating of 21.2 (tied for 118th among FBS quarterbacks).
Bonner was notably among the Aggies players and coaches subjected to fan disapproval — boos and other forms of heckling — during Utah State’s historic loss to Weber State.
Anderson stuck by Bonner after the game and is sticking with him still, though Bonner’s leash is perhaps as short as it has ever been.
“He has earned the right to show what he can do,” Anderson said. “He has been very open and transparent with the staff and the team, saying ‘Guys, this is something I want to do, I will do and you can trust me to do it.’
“I expect he is going to go out (against UNLV) and play like the guy he is capable of being. If he doesn’t, we will move on at quarterback very quickly to (Cooper Legas), but we just haven’t been at that point yet. We had to give him an opportunity to play into the guy we all know he is.”
Bonner suffered a significant knee injury at the end of last season and had offseason surgery to correct it.
Nine months removed from that surgery, Bonner is healthy and in the best shape of his Aggie career.
Mentally, though, self-professed by Bonner to his coaches and teammates, he is struggling.
“He has been open,” Anderson said. “He was extremely transparent and very critical of himself. He has been struggling a little bit anxiety-wise with truly trusting his body. He deserves the opportunity to prove that he can do it this week, but he is on a very short lease and he knows that.
“We can’t continue to play with him second-guessing what the knee will and won’t do. He has to move the chains with his feet and he had opportunities to do that last week and the week before (against Alabama) and didn’t and he knows that.”
Anderson and company remain optimistic that Bonner can rediscover the record breaking form that he put on display last season while leading the Aggies to the Mountain West Conference championship.
“He is already one of the biggest leaders on our team, but this last week he really stepped up and took some ownership and really said ‘Hey guys, I’ve been struggling these past couple of weeks and I’m claiming that and will be better going forward,’” offensive lineman Jacob South said. “I have a lot of confidence in Logan and I always will.”
For his part, Anderson expects Bonner to have his best performance of the season this weekend in the Utah State’s conference opener against UNLV.
“I expect him to play his best game,” Anderson said. “He has always done his best with his back against the wall and he’s played through injuries before. Physically he is in better shape right now than he was at points last year.
“It is just coming out of the injury and surgery in his mind to be able to go into a live situation and do the things he needs to do with confidence. I am hoping this week proves that he can get there.”