Bentley, supporting cast impressive in spring game
South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley mentioned all spring he thought the Gamecocks offense could be better than the 2016 edition.
Based on the dress rehearsal Saturday in the Black’s 35-24 win over the Garnet at William-Brice Stadium, the sophomore signal-caller might be on to something.
Bentley, who was named offensive player of the spring, threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns, but the supporting cast might have stolen the show.
Transfer running back Ty’Son Williams rushed for 83 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. He showed a burst and the ability to stretch the defense by getting to the perimeter easily. He also added three catches for 30 yards in a half of work.
Williams sat out last season after playing as a freshman at UNC, so he was looking to make an impact going into the summer.
“It felt good to get back into the swing of things. Overall, I’m trying to get comfortable with the offense,” Williams said. “It’s always important to go out and do the best you can, but more importantly, I wanted to show the fans what I can do.”
Williams and Bentley were a part of the offensive explosion by the Gamecocks. Bryan Edwards spent part of the spring on the sidelines, but he showed why he was a freshman All-SEC performer last year. The Conway native hauled in four passes for 111 yards and touchdowns of 68 and 21 yards from Bentley.
Kiel Pollard showed flashes with eight catches for 91 yards. Add in Jerad Washington’s five catches for 81 yards and a 40-yard touchdown reception, on a pass from Michael Scarnecchia, to go along with Jacob August’s 33-yard TD strike from Bentley and it was like South Carolina didn’t miss Deebo Samuel, Hayden Hurst and A.J. Turner, who didn’t play. Rico Dowdle played the first couple of series, but only had three touches.
“We’ve got explosive players and our two most explosive players weren’t playing,” Bentley said. “I think what you saw is the depth that we have. Everyone is just more comfortable being a year in.”
South Carolina’s offense averaged 20.8 points per game last season, but scored 39 in a Birmingham Bowl loss to South Florida. They looked more like that team than the one that combined to score 14 in losses to Florida and Clemson.
Wide receiver OrTre Smith, who caught a 42-yard touchdown, is already on campus, and the Gamecocks have talented playmakers Chad Terrell and Shi Smith on the way this summer.
Coach Will Muschamp is expecting more from that unit going into the second season under co-offensive coordinators Kurt Roper and Bryan McClendon.
“Offensively, we’re a little further along, which is good. We should be with the returners that we have, the skill guys, Jake, the running backs that we have,” Muschamp said. “I think we have an opportunity to be a good offensive football team.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Bentley, supporting cast impressive in spring game."