The progress Jake Bentley saw from USC’s quarterback waiting in the wings

Through the course of a college football season, the practice workload for a No. 3 quarterback is surprisingly light.

First and second teams get most of the reps in what ends up being limited time through the week. Coaching staff are focused on the game ahead, where they expect to have the starter, and at worst, the backup.

So it means a player like South Carolina’s No. 3 passer Jay Urich has to make the most of the smaller chances he gets.

Some of those came in the lead-up to South Carolina’s bowl game. Jake Bentley had taken nearly every in-game rep for USC across the season, and backup Michael Scarnecchia got whatever was left.

“During bowl practices, me and Scar kind of sit aside,” Bentley said. “Especially in the early part of the week, and really let the younger guys go, Jay and Darius (Douglas) and Bailey (Hart) and even Danny (Gordon) getting in, and Drew (Dinsmore). Just getting better.

“Jay, things are starting to click for him.”

Most of those players are walk-ons, with Urich as the scholarship freshman from the 2017 class. He redshirted, which in some ways was expected given his background and skill set.

Urich had once been a wide receiver, started his career at Blue Ridge and then transferred to Wren High School to play in a more pass-heavy attack. He followed Clemson starter Kelly Bryant, who joined the Hurricanes for much the same reason.

Urich was a dual-threat player at the helm of a high-powered passing offense, throwing for 2,758 yards and running for 1,031 more as a junior, on the way to earning a Gamecocks offer. As a senior, he had 2,055 yards through the air, 1,036 on the ground and 30 total touchdowns.

His spot among the quarterbacks might be fluid as USC has a somewhat top-heavy situation. Bentley is the guy next season and likely the next (unless he breaks out in a big way). Scarnecchia will be a fifth-year senior. But another developmental passer will join the team in Dakereon Joyner, a four-star with a high athletic ceiling.

No matter the reps Urich got, Bentley said he saw progress from the young signal caller as the season went on.

“I think he’s just more confident,” Bentley said. “I think he kind of came in like any freshman quarterback, not knowing really what’s going on, the offense, trying to pick it up. But now, he’s got a good grasp of what’s going on. And you can see it on him, just more confident in where he’s putting the ball and how fast he’s playing.”

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 10:45 AM with the headline "The progress Jake Bentley saw from USC’s quarterback waiting in the wings."