Dusty Bonner

Dusty Bonner (born October 27, 1978) 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.

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.

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)

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