Illinois transfer Ra'Von Bonner back on the field with Owls after opt-out

When Ra’Von Bonner entered the transfer portal, there wasn’t much of a recruiting process at all.

The fifth-year senior running back was informed of the opportunity he now has with Temple by his former position coach at Illinois, Thad Ward. Bonner described Ward as a “person he trusts.” When the now-Temple wide receiver coach reached out to Bonner, he didn’t think twice.

Bonner no longer felt welcomed at the school where he spent his previous four years.

This was after the 5-foot-11, 215-pound running back became the first player in the nation to opt-out of the 2020 campaign due to concerns about COVID-19.

“There wasn’t enough information about the virus at that point,” Bonner told reporters during Thursday’s media availability. “A lot of health professionals, like doctors and experts, didn’t know a lot about it. If they don’t know anything about it, how can a coach know much about it and tell me how to respond and operate within this pandemic?”

Having asthma, Bonner said he was unsure how that would affect his health down the line. He was also worried about potentially exposing his grandparents to COVID.

This past summer took its toll on Bonner and his family. His grandfather passed away from a battle with cancer, while he had an uncle die in a motorcycle accident.

It was just a lot for him to handle and on top of that, he felt he was needed in the ongoing battle against racial justice.

Bonner is outspoken and it’s what scares his mom, he said. Still, he’s going to stand up for what he believes in.

The Cincinnati native was honest about his departure from Illinois. He felt like he was being punished for his decision to opt-out, as it was made known to him that there may not be a scholarship waiting for him when he returned.

“When I believe in something, I can’t just sugar-coat it, I can’t just beat around the bush,” Bonner said. “When I see there’s an issue, I’m gonna speak up about it. Especially when it affects more than just me.

“People think that student-athletes are treated like superstars and that’s just not the case. This could be just very detrimental to a lot of our mental health. In terms of that, there was no guarantee that I would be on scholarship. When they interviewed (former Illinois head) coach (Lovie Smith), he stated that ‘No, there is no guarantee that he’ll be on scholarship.’ I wasn’t being disrespectful and if it was controversial, so be it.”

Temple head coach Rod Carey spoke about some of the team’s opt-outs on Monday and when he did, he hit on those players missing the game and having newfound energy.

For Bonner, making it back onto the field has shown him just how much he loves this game.

And, Thursday was his first day back on the practice field after testing positive for the virus.

“I’ve just been telling myself, ‘Ra’Von, you owe you. You owe that seven-year-old kid, who had a dream to play football, who had a dream of going to the NFL.’ And, just taking it one step at a time," he said. "I may not be where I want to be..but I’m definitely thankful to be back. Today, I got tackled twice in practice and for me, that felt that good because that’s the type of running back that I am. I love the physical aspect, so that was really fun to feel that for the first time in a year and a half.”

Bonner is a more physical back who prefers to run more inside zone, which he calls his “bread and butter.” But he's not just a between-the-tackles, short-yardage back.

“I think that people have this notion that Ra’Von Bonner’s a power back, but that’s just not the case,” he said. “I think that I have really good acceleration. I am a powerful back, but I’m a lot faster than people think. I’m able to catch the ball really well out of the backfield.”

Bonner compares his running style to that of legendary Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton. He likes to resemble him, even though he jokingly says he knows he’s not on that level.

Over his three seasons at Illinois, Bonner totaled 822 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

While Bonner is new to the program, he isn’t exactly a stranger to college football. Besides Tayvon Ruley, who will miss the entirety of spring practice due to an injury, Bonner is the senior-most player in Temple’s running back room.

“My motto is this: Wherever I go, anywhere I go in life, I want to leave that place, I want to leave these people better than I found it,” Bonner said. “It’s not me saying that I’m better than anyone, but at the end of the day, I’m not trying to be remembered as a football player or as an intelligent student. I just want to be remembered as someone [who] being able to say ‘Ra’Von Bonner impacted my life in a positive way. He made me a better being. He made me a better football player.’”

“I think I’ve embraced this leadership role because that’s what Coach Carey, Coach [Gabe] Infante, Coach Ward, they all told me during the process that it’s needed. So I’m definitely able to spread some of my football knowledge ... and extend it to those younger guys, in the classroom as well. That’s a big thing for me. I’m a guy that’s on the dean’s list, honor society like that’s the kind of guy I am.”

One of those younger guys is Iverson Clement, even though the Florida transfer comes with some SEC experience under his belt.

“Iverson, that’s my boy,” Bonner said. “I think we hit it off pretty quickly. When we first got here, he’s a lot similar to me as far as having those deep conversations. For me, I can’t just sit around having artificial conversations with people all day. I want to get to know who you are, beyond the surface level and Iverson, I’ve gotten to know him in just such a short time and he’s gotten to know a lot about me in such a short time.

Bonner and Clement are connected by the fact that both arrived in North Philadelphia via the transfer portal. The duo will likely be a 1-2 punch that complements one another, while Ruley also figures to factor himself into the mix.