Backup quarterback Kyle Bolin injured a knee during the off-season and could take a while to fully recover, according to a Courier-Journal report.
Bolin’s status comes as a surprise, made public by Coach Bobby Petrino during the Atlantic Coast Conference meetings in Greensboro, N.C. He’s already had surgery, according to the coach, and his workouts have been limited this summer, meaning Bolin will have to work himself back into playing condition.
Petrino has indicated Will Gardner will be the likely starter so the battle for backup will intensify when fall practice begins during the first week of August.
The UofL roster lists five other quarterbacks. They include Reggie Bonnafon, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound freshman from Trinity, Brett Nelson, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound redshirt junior transfer from Southwestern Community College in California, Ethan Horton, a 6-foot, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Leslie County, Ky., Pat Thomas, a 6-foot-1, 201-pound junior transfer from Georgia Military, and Reggie Green, a 6-foot-1, 201-pound junior transfer, also from Georgia Military.
While Bonnafon would be the popular choice because of his local ties, Petrino isn’t about to declare anything just yet, saying that he hopes the Trinity product “competes for the job.”