Dusty Bonner

Dusty Bonner

No. --     Free Agent
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: October 27, 1978 (1978-10-27) (age 33)
Place of birth: Valdosta, Georgia
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Weight: 240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
College: Kentucky, Valdosta State
Undrafted in 2002
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
Atlanta Falcons (2002)* Buffalo Bills (2003-2004) New England Patriots (2005) Houston Texans (2006) BC Lions (2006) *Offseason/and or preseason member only
Career highlights and awards
Harlon Hill Trophy (2000-2001) College awards and honors

Dusty Bonner (born October 27, 1978 in Valdosta, Georgia) is a former American football quarterback.

He was a standout Harlon Hill Trophy winner in 2000 and 2001 while playing for Valdosta State University, and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002 by the Atlanta Falcons.

College career

University of Kentucky

At Kentucky, Bonner was the backup quarterback behind eventual #1 overall NFL draft pick Tim Couch during the 1998 season in which the Wildcats ended up in the Outback Bowl after winning seven games. Couch went to the NFL after his junior season and Bonner became the starting quarterback in 1999. In 1999, Bonner started all 12-games and led the Southeastern Conference in pass efficiency, total offense, and passing yards per game. He led Kentucky to six wins (including victories over Louisiana State University and the University of Arkansas) and a close loss in the Music City Bowl. After head coach Hal Mumme announced that freshman Jared Lorenzen would be the starting quarterback for the 2000 season, Bonner transferred to Valdosta State University. Dusty lists his most memorable collegiate moment as defeating Vanderbilt while playing for UK to become bowl eligible.

Valdosta State University

A two-year letterwinner for Valdosta State University, Dusty Bonner established himself as one of the greatest Blazer gridironers of all time as he twice won the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II’s top football player. Bonner completed 649-of-913 passing attempts and threw for 8,163 yards during his two-year career. Bonner tossed 107 touchdowns, against just 22 interceptions while leading Valdosta State University to playoff appearances during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Bonner holds the VSU school record for passing yards in a game, touchdowns thrown for in a game, total offense in a game, touchdowns responsible for in a game, yards per game in a season, total offense in a season and touchdowns responsible for in a season. He is third overall in career passing yards and second in both career touchdowns and total offense.

Professional career

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Lexington Horsemen

Named Atlantic Conference Offensive Most Valuable Player in 2003, finishing the season by completing 297 of his 450 pass attempts. Threw for 2,833 yards, 63 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Finished second in the league in pass rating (109.1), third in total offense (2,884 total yards), third in passing yards (202.4 per game) and third in touchdown passes (63). The Horsemen offense scored 53.1 points per game with Bonner as their signal-caller, which ranked third best in the league. In 2004, Bonner led the Horsemen to the national championship, He threw for 2,695 yards and 72 touchdowns during the 2004 regular season. Bonner's 72 touchdowns rank as a league best in 2004. He also compiled a quarterback rating of 108.54, which also ranked first. Completed 18-of-28 passes in the championship game vs. Sioux Falls for 193 yards and five touchdowns. After a successful career on the field Bonner joined the front office of the Horsemen working under Andy Raaker as the General Manager. In this position he would be very helpful in continuing the dominance that had been started by Raaker.

Awards and honors

• Harlon Hill Trophy (2000)
• Harlon Hill Trophy (2001)
• National Indoor Football Championship (2004)

NFL

Atlanta Falcons

He signed with the Falcons on March 19, 2003 but never saw regular season action.

Preceded by Corte McGuffey	Harlon Hill Trophy 2000-2001	Succeeded by Curt Anes
Preceded by Tim Couch	University of Kentucky Starting Quarterback 1998-1999	Succeeded by Jared Lorenzen
Preceded by ?	Valdosta State University Starting Quarterback 2000-2001	Succeeded by Barrett Wilkes

References

External links

• Harlon Hill Trophy 2000
• Harlon Hill Trophy 2001
• Valdosta State University Hall of Fame Induction
• Lexington Horsemen Biography
• Dusty Bonner Article @ www.oursportscentral.com

Persondata
Name	Bonner, Dusty
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 27, 1978
Place of birth	Valdosta, Georgia
Date of death
Place of death