Quince Orchard senior quarterback Doc Bonner has committed to play college football at Air Force. He was previously committed to Dartmouth. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
In early September, a week and a half before he made his original commitment to play at Dartmouth, Doc Bonner reached into the passenger’s side window of his family’s light-blue Toyota Camry and took a package from his dad.
It was from the Air Force football program, which had offered him the previous February and was one of many schools courting him. Bonner held the package up to the sun, showing an Air Force player carrying a football, and read a note from Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun. The note, written in blue Sharpie, said Bonner would look great wearing a bolt. The senior quarterback smiled, stuffed the envelope in his backpack and went to get ready for another day of practice.
But now, four months later and after decommitting from Dartmouth on Tuesday, Bonner plans to begin his college career at Air Force in July. He verbally committed to Dartmouth on Sept. 24 during an official visit to campus, but stayed in touch with Air Force through January. Bonner is one of the area’s most dynamic quarterbacks, named first-team All-Met for his play this past season that led Quince Orchard one win shy of Maryland’s 4A state title for the second straight year. Bonner threw for 2,259 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing 119 of 203 passes his senior season. He also ran for 789 yards and 15 more touchdowns.
[‘There’s nothing like Friday’: A season with Doc Bonner and the Quince Orchard football team]
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound quarterback is Quince Orchard’s career-leader in passing yards (5,244), touchdowns (58), pass attempts (496), completions (313), completion percentage (63 percent) and average per attempt (10.57). With his skill set, Bonner picked up offers from not only Dartmouth and Air Force, but also Army, Bucknell, Georgetown, Morgan State, Sacred Heart and Towson.
“Making that switch right now, it is a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders,” Bonner said. “At a point in time there it was like I didn’t know, but going there and truly seeing it and actually falling in love with it, I can’t complain. I’m glad me and my family made the decision.”
Accompanied by his father, Bonner took his official visit to Air Force last weekend. It was a trip of firsts for Bonner. Not only was it his first time visiting the Colorado campus, where from his hotel room he could see the snow-covered Pikes Peak, but it was also his first time flying on an airplane. His only other flying experience was when he was airlifted on a helicopter two Decembers ago after being struck helmet-to-helmet during a game between Quince Orchard and Wise. The airplane ride was a bit better, Bonner said.
“At first, the takeoff on the plane was kind of shaky and I was like, ‘Oh no, the plane is going down,’ but then the plane started flying and it was pretty cool,” Bonner said.
After returning home from his visit, Bonner and his family made the official decision to flip from Dartmouth to Air Force on Sunday.
“Honestly, it is a bigger stage,” said Bonner of playing for Air Force. “Playing Jim Harbaugh in Michigan on national television with 100,000 people and fans watching you play Michigan or Boise State. Just to have the opportunity to play in the Mountain West Conference and be able to have a chance to compete to play for a championship and a bowl game is pretty great. It is definitely big-time football there.”
As for Dartmouth and Bonner’s commitment, Bonner said that while there was a December signing ceremony held at Quince Orchard along with other athletes who were signing their National Letters of Intent, Bonner actually never signed the NLI and Dartmouth was aware of the scenario.
“The signing was just for school and just for show and it was pretty cool,” Bonner said. “[Dartmouth] knew I was just a verbal commit and they were cool with me doing the quote-on-quote signing.”
[Mission accomplished: Wise stops Quince Orchard to win third straight state title]
Bonner said the Air Force offense is a really a “dream” situation for him, because it is similar to what Bonner experienced in high school. Quince Orchard Coach John Kelley said he thought Bonner would fit in well with Air Force’s system, especially because he thinks Air Force is becoming more intent on expanding its passing game.
“They are running shotgun, pass-plays, [run-pass options],” Bonner said. “They aren’t just triple option. They like to switch it up and based on the film that I saw over the weekend and what I’ve seen over TV, it’s really cool and it fits me pretty well and a lot of my teammates said, ‘Air Force is perfect for you, you like to run anyway,’ so it’s pretty funny.”
Bonner will not hit the field right away for Air Force. Instead, he will go through a year at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School before having the opportunity to gain an appointment to the Air Force Academy the following year.
“Bottom line is that decisions like these, sometimes it happens,” said Kelley of Bonner’s decision to flip schools. “Players have to make sure they are doing what is in their best interest, and I am just happy for him and his family.
“Air Force is obviously going to get a great player and great leader.”
Back in September, before stashing the package from Air Force out of sight, Bonner took a long look at the player splashed across the front of it.
“Dang,” Bonner, still tangled in the recruiting process then, said to himself. “It would be tight if that were me.”
Some day, it may be.
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