Over the weekend, we wrote about the strong bond between Louisville quarterback Reggie Bonnafon and his father, Wallace, who died just three games into the 2014 season. But while Reggie Bonnafon’s off-the-field story has been remarkable, his on-the-field success is intriguing for Louisville fans eager to learn who’ll emerge as the team’s starting quarterback. Here’s some of what Bonnafon had to say about his growth at the position and his expectations for 2015.

David Hale: What was your focus this offseason? How crucial was it to have some time to get comfortable after being thrown into the fire as a true freshman?

Reggie Bonnafon: This spring was very important to me. About a week after the season, I sat down with Coach [Garrick] McGee to start planning what we’d do this spring and how my game would evolve, what things we needed to work on in the passing game and fundamentals. For me personally, I wanted to become a more efficient passer. I knew what I could do with my legs as far as running the ball, [but I was focusing on] just making our passing game as big a threat as our running game. We’re making strides. The timing with our receivers is getting a lot better.

Hale: What was last season like for you with playing early while enduring some serious off-field problems?

Bonnafon: I grew up a lot last season. I started off the season against Murray State, [and] it was the first opportunity I got to play and had a good game. Two games later, after the Virginia game, my father passed away suddenly. That was a big blow. My teammates and coaches did a good job of keeping me positive and focused on the rest of the season. On down the road, I had the opportunity to play in some big games as well -- Clemson, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Wake Forest. I was really excited to have the opportunity to be a true freshman and come in and have a little success and a little failure. The Clemson game for sure, I learned a lot. The atmosphere -- I was a young kid playing before 80,000 people. My adrenaline was pumping, I was all amped up, and it did’t go as well as I planned it to. But when we went to Notre Dame, my experience at Clemson allowed me to perform well because I’d been in that atmosphere before. ... As a freshman, not only was I looking at the game plan and things like that, but I was always hearing about places like Death Valley and things like that -- [and] that begins to pop in your mind as well -- not just defenses and schemes but the crowd noise and things like that. But I’ve been in those situations, so that’s probably the last thing on my mind. This year I’ll focus a lot more on the scheme and not get so caught up in the small things.

Hale: How much progress do you feel like you were able to make this spring?

Bonnafon: I had some highs and lows throughout the weeks that we practiced and scrimmaged. I could tell in the spring game that all the hard work -- a lot of bad days of trying to work on accuracy and things like that -- really paid off. Once we really got in a game-type situation, I could really tell that the game has slowed down. Since the spring game, I’ve really been working hard on technique and trying to improve on a daily basis -- watching film, doing field work, footwork, anything. So once fall camp comes, I can really perform at the highest level.

Hale: What did you hear from Coach [Bobby] Petrino and Coach McGee about your progress?

Bonnafon: They were really pleased with the way I finished spring. I’m always my biggest critic, so Coach Petrino was a lot more pleased with the spring than I was with myself. But he told me that he really liked the way I competed during the spring. Really we just worked on -- wanted me to emphasize fundamentals [by] just working on quick release, quicker feet. I took it upon myself to really dive in headfirst to the film room as well, trying to become a better player from the neck up. I think that really helps a quarterback at this level, so that’ really what I’ve been trying to attack and step up and be a leader of this team.

Hale: Has it been tough to step up as a leader when there are still three other guys competing for that starting QB job?

Bonnafon: I’ve always tried to be the guy that people can go to, to be the leader of the team -- whether it was me playing or not. I just want people to know they have somebody to turn to when things are going bad -- or good as well. So for me, it’s not much of a change from what I was trying to do before. I think your work speaks for itself, so I always thought working in the weight room -- I’m not too much of a rah-rah type of guy anyway, but the guys know that every time we’re all together -- running, lifting weights, watching film -- I’m all in. That’s the thing I try to do is just emphasize that I’m really serious about this, and they can trust me and I can trust them, and I let the rest take care of itself.

Hale: You talked about some of the downs you had during the spring. Was it a matter of just putting too much pressure on yourself?

Bonnafon: That’s exactly what happened. Coming in from the previous season, I kind of left out on -- I wouldn’t say a sour note, but I learned a lot from my injury and trying to come back, practice habits and things like that. Once the spring came, I was really putting a lot of pressure on myself to become more of a passer and not using my dual-threat ability as much as I could. You could really tell that what I was trying to do wasn’t what got me to this point. After having a couple talks with Coach McGee and reading that letter from my dad, I think the third scrimmage we had, I just went out there not worrying about my performance -- just going out and having fun and playing football, [enjoying] the game I truly fell in love with when I was 5-years-old. So once that happened, and [I had] a couple good practices in a row, my confidence got back to where it needed to be, and the execution came along with that, and I think that’s why I finished out the spring so well. I attacked and analyzed what I was doing, and I just went back to me being who I really am and taking coaching and trying to play my own game instead of trying to be something I’m not necessarily blessed with. And instead, [I was] using the talents I do have to execute the offense.

Hale: That third scrimmage when you turned the corner was also when the coaches decided to make the QBs live beyond the line of scrimmage. Did that focus on letting you use your legs more give you a chance to really get comfortable this spring?

Bonnafon: Yeah, definitely. I remember Coach McGee walked into the quarterback room and told us that we would be live, and I think I was the only one that was about to jump out of my seat. I was so happy. I’ve always played quarterback, but when I was really young, I played tight end and running back, so I was always used to contact. Now that I’ve played quarterback for some years, it’s still in me. I need to know when to take [hits] and when not to, but I think being live during the scrimmage, it just made it more of a game situation for me. Sometimes playing quarterback, it gets kind of boring when everybody else is live except for you, and you just trot down the field. It’s just weird to me. I’d rather be live like everybody else. So when coaches said that, I knew they were kind of wanting to see what I could do. And when I had the opportunity, I feel like I did some really good things. And also looking back on film, there are some things that when the season comes, I want to do as well. It was a great experience for me this spring.