When Brian Bonner added punt return duties to his already busy schedule as a junior, he found his niche on the football field.

Bonner has the build of a free safety, but his loose hips and coverage skills allowed him to handle man coverage assignments in the team's nickel package. He also has starting experience at strong safety, where he produced an array of crunching tackles on opposing ballcarriers, producing 20 ½ tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including nine sacks during his career.

Despite handling punt-return duties in his last two years, Bonner ranks sixth on the Mountain West Conference career-record list with 65 returns. He joined Holmon Wiggins of New Mexico (46 in 2000) and Steve Smith of Utah (43 in 2000) as the only players in league history to return more than 40 punts in a season, as his 41 in 2007 rank third on the school annual record chart, topped by Davey O'Brien (58 in 1937) and Cy Leland (48 in 1930).

At A.J. Jones High School, Bonner was named the All-South Texas quarterback and Victoria Advocate Offensive Player of the Year. He also earned District 29-4A Player of the Year honors and was his area's Class 4A total offense leader as a junior in 2001, passing for 940 yards and rushing for 655 yards in nine games, a 177.2 yards per game average.

Bonner totaled 3,180 career passing yards and 2,477 rushing yards. He passed for 1,412 yards and rushed for 1,179 yards as a senior, as he also played defensive back. He lettered four times in football and track and once in basketball.

Bonner accepted a scholarship to attend Texas Christian in 2003, turning down offers from Georgia Tech, Houston and Southern Methodist. He redshirted while playing on the scout team as a strong safety in 2003 and appeared in eleven games as a reserve at that position in 2004. He produced 28 tackles (19 solo) with a sack, 3 ½ stops for losses, a pair of pass breakups and a fumble recovery.

Bonner started six games at strong safety in 2005, collecting 43 tackles (23 solo), two sacks and four stops behind the line of scrimmage. He recovered and caused two fumbles and deflected three passes. He also intercepted four others.

As a junior, Bonner earned All-Mountain West Conference first-team honors as a return specialist and second-team accolades as a strong safety. He led the MWC and ranked 16th in the nation with 24 punt returns for 305 yards (12.7-yard average). He picked off two passes, batted down four others and caused a fumble. He led the league's defensive backs with 9 ½ stops behind the line of scrimmage and 4 ½ sacks, as he also registered 49 tackles (29 solo).

Bonner joined Cory Rogers (2003-05) as the only players in school history to earn postseason honors as a return specialist more than once in a career. He was again named All-MWC first-team as a returner and second-team as a strong safety. He placed second in the conference and 16th nationally with a 13.0-yard average on 41 punt returns for 535 yards. He had one interception with two pass deflections, adding 1 ½ sacks and 3 ½ stops for losses. He also finished third on the team with 78 tackles (56 solo).

In 49 games at Texas Christian, Bonner started 27 times. He recorded 198 tackles (127 solo) with nine sacks for minus-77 yards, 20 ½ stops for losses of 108 yards and a pair of quarterback pressures. He caused three fumbles and recovered three others, returning one five yards. He broke up 11 passes and intercepted seven others for 109 yards in returns (15.6-yard average). On special teams, he generated 840 yards on 65 punt returns (12.9-yard average) and 6.3 yards on four onside kickoffs.

Positives: Has a muscular frame with good development in his arms shoulders and chest, along with thick thighs and calves, a tight waist and abdomen and good bubble, but his frame is at maximum growth potential … More quick than fast and despite a lack of bulk, he is quite effective making plays in the box vs. the run … Has very good eyes, quickly reading keys and reacting to the flow … Slippery enough at the line of scrimmage coming off the edge to be a disruptive force in the backfield … Shows good change-of-direction agility (some tightness in his hips) and short-area burst to close quickly on action in front of him … Has the functional playing speed to handle intermediate route coverage, but it is not advisable to use him on deep routes in man coverage … Decisive open-field runner with good foot quickness and change-of-direction agility with the ball in his hands … His hands are smaller than ideal, but he does a good job of fielding punts … As a returner, he shows good quickness and acceleration, along with the strength to break arm tackles … Gets north and south with good vision to find seams and has adequate ability to get his body squared … Has a decent short-area burst, with just adequate long speed and hip flexibility, but shows good change-of-direction skills, quick-twitch athleticism … Makes quick reads vs. the run and shows good awareness in underneath coverage … Productive blitzer, can find lanes and is very good avoiding blocks on the move … Works extremely hard in the weight room to improve (can be hard on himself, but wants to do well in everything he does) … Used more inside the box as a run support safety, showing that he can run the seam with tight ends and has enough quickness to turn and maintain his position vs. tight ends … Best when he plays up around the line of scrimmage … Not in his backpedal much, but has shown some improvement in generating an adequate burst in transition to recover … In zone coverage, he shows awareness to locate routes in his area … Will get into passing lanes and disrupt the line of sight for the receiver … Shows good all-around reactions, as he sees things and reacts quickly, having the short-area burst to close … Has a better short-area burst than long speed, but in the intermediate area, he can chase plays down and recover vs. bigger athletes … Has adequate overall flexibility and body control in pass coverage to adjust and make the difficult play … Shows good hands and can finish with an interception when in position, doing a good job to extend and pluck the ball away from his frame … Quick to show up and support vs. the run, demonstrating the ability to close by taking good angles … Productive wrap-up tackler, who has had good success when coming in low to take out the legs of the ballcarrier … Has adequate playing strength and explosiveness on contact.

Negatives: Built like a free safety, but lacks the suddenness and timed speed for at that position … More of a downhill player, very good at impacting vs. the run, but needs to do a better job timing leaps to compete for jump balls … Might be able to cover slot receivers at the next level, but needs to refine his backpedal, as he is not fluid in his turning motion and he takes choppy steps in transition, preventing him from getting a clean and quick break on the ball … Good in zone coverage, but can't mirror speedy receivers in deep man coverage … Has good upper-body strength, but does get pushed around some by the bigger receivers competing for the ball in a crowd … Fields punts well, but has small hands and does not extend well to get to the ball at its high point … Hard hitter who might be a better fit at strong safety, but his frame is at maximum growth potential and he will need to add bulk to play that position at the next level … Not a blow-up type of tackler who can out-battle bigger blockers at the point of attack, but is good at avoiding and slipping into the backfield to make the play on backside pursuit … Not the type that can split double teams on the inside blitz and is better served attacking from the edge … Lacks lower-body strength to plant his foot in the ground and hold firmly on plays directed right at him … Has decent lateral agility, but it would be even better if he opened his hips more.

Compares To: MIKE MINTER-ex-Carolina … Like Minter, Bonner is a little bit strong safety (vs. the run), a little bit free safety (short-area passing game) and a lot of team-first athlete. He plays with good aggression inside the box and while bigger blockers can shut him down, they have to catch him first. His ability to slip those blocks have resulted in nine sacks, 20 ½ stops behind the line of scrimmage and three forced fumbles during his career. He lacks range and timed speed, but he's always game for a battle.

2006: Limited in spring camp due to an ankle sprain.

2007: Ankle problems again limited Bonner in spring drills … Suffered a hip strain vs. Nevada-Las Vegas (11/17).

Campus: 4.57 in the 40-yard dash … 1.53 10-yard dash … 2.64 20-yard dash … 4.26 20-yard shuttle … 7.03 three-cone drill … 34-inch vertical jump … 9'6" broad jump … 400-pound bench press … 650-pound squat … 325-pound power clean … 350-pound incline press … 30 7/8-inch arm length … 9 ½-inch hands … Right-handed … 14/21 Wonderlic score.

Combine: 4.61 in the 40-yard dash … 1.52 10-yard dash … 2.62 20-yard dash … 4.43 20-yard shuttle … 7.21 three-cone drill … 31-inch vertical jump … 9'5" broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 17 times.

Attended A.C. Jones (Beeville, Tex.) High School, playing football for head coach Brad Norvell … Named the All-South Texas quarterback and Victoria Advocate Offensive Player of the Year … Earned District 29-4A Player of the Year honors and was his area's Class 4A total offense leader as a junior in 2001, passing for 940 yards and rushing for 655 yards in nine games, a 177.2 yards per game average … Totaled 3,180 career passing yards and 2,477 rushing yards … Passed for 1,412 yards and rushed for 1,179 yards as a senior, as he also played defensive back … Lettered four times in football and track and once in basket-ball.

Communications major, with an emphasis in Human Relations … Son of Madalene Bonner … Born Brian Michael Bonner on 4/13/84 … Resides in Beeville, Texas.