Bohanon to visit Arkansas after leading Earle to conference title

Gerry Bohanon

— Before taking his first official visit to Arkansas on Friday, Earle senior quarterback Gerry Bohanon had one last thing to accomplish during his regular season.

That was to win an undisputed 2A-3 division title and give his team homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Bohanon (6-4, 215 pounds) and the Bulldogs (8-1, 6-0), coming off a bye, did just that by blowing out East Poinsett County 58-6 Thursday night in Earle.

“We got started a little slow and had too many penalties, which I think was because we had an off week last week and got out of our rhythm,” Bohanon said. “But we got it going after we fell behind (6-0). Our goal was to win the conference and now that’s taken care of.

“The next step is winning the state title, which hasn’t been done around here in over 40 years.”

Bohanon completed 8 of 15 passes for 84 yards and 3 touchdowns, and also ran 10 times for 69 yards, passed for a two-point conversion and ran for another two-point conversion against EPC (7-3, 4-2).

He has passed for more than 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, and rushed for more than 900 yards and 13 touchdowns. Earle has won eight straight games since a season-opening loss.

“He’s a leader and this team goes as he goes,” Earle coach Albert Coleman said. “If he stays healthy and keeps his head on his shoulders, I think we can make a big run in the playoffs.”

Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn, Louisville and Baylor are among the numerous schools that have offered Bohanon.

He wanted to begin his official visits with a trip to Arkansas, where he will arrive around 11:30 a.m. Friday and spend some time with Razorbacks coach Bret Bielema and offensive coordinator Dan Enos.

“I wanted to go see Arkansas first and then we’ll see where it goes from there,” Bohanon said. “I haven’t set up any of the others. We’ll just see how that goes.

“I am really looking forward to spending time with the players and the coaches. I’m just looking to checking out the vibe and spending time with Coach Enos and Coach Bielema.

“We talk all the time and they have really been on me hard. We have a really good relationship.”

Juanita Bohanon, Gerry’s mother, is excited about making the trip to Arkansas with Gerry and his father.

“The Arkansas coaches have been great and he wanted to make that his first official visit and we are very excited to get up there this weekend and just see everything they have to offer and how he would fit in,” she said.

There have been plenty of Arkansas football fans offering encouragement for him to commit to the Razorbacks.

“We get that all the time from every age group, from 2 to 62,” Juanita Bohanon said. “I think the Arkansas fans are die-hard and because we are residents of the Natural State, they want him to stay home.”

Bohanon had originally cut his list to Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Baylor, Louisville and Georgia, but he opened his recruitment up last month to include more than those six schools. He now is considering LSU and Georgia, two schools he has visited unofficially during the season.

“I don’t have a top six like I did,” Bohanon said. “If there were other schools that wanted to come in, I would open it up. A few schools have hit me up recently and I am hoping to add more offers.”

Bohanon does not have a timetable for making his college choice.

“I would say when it happens, it happens,” Bohanon said.

Juanita Bohanon said she feels like her son has handle all the attention well.

“He actually has done very well with all the attention,” she said. “I think you can attribute that a lot to his upbringing and the community support, the love from everybody here at his high school.

“He is a real good kid and very level headed, humble and I think is a result of the people he is around and the people in his life, who have always been around him. He has a great support system.”