Bonnafon to start vs Wake Forest; Gardner out

It's official: Louisville native Reggie Bonnafon will start at quarterback for the University of Louisville football team on Saturday against Wake Forest.

U of L coach Bobby Petrino confirmed the news on Thursday after saying that Will Gardner, who started the first four games of the season, was not cleared to play by team doctors.

Gardner tweaked his left knee in the third quarter of Louisville's 34-3 win at Florida International last Saturday.

"He has responded well to treatment and he's doing a lot better," Petrino said of Gardner.

Bonnafon, a freshman who graduated from Trinity High, missed last week to be with his family in the wake of his father's unexpected death. The freshman returned to team meetings and workouts on Sunday and is in line to make his first career college start.

He ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in Louisville's 66-21 win over Murray State on Sept. 6, and he played in four series in U of L's 23-21 loss at Virginia two Saturdays ago.

"Since the day he got here, he's been very mature, a quick learner, very competitive," Petrino said of Bonnafon. "Every time we've put him into the game, he's executed well. He has a little bit of different flavor, with the fact that he's very athletic and he can run. It'll be interesting to see how it all goes."