Bobby Bentley needs David Williams to see the game better
South Carolina fans could see it from last season: The returning crew of running backs needed to take a step forward.
New running backs coach Bobby Bentley had to agree.
“When I got the job, I watched every rep that David Williams ran,” Bentley said Wednesday at a Spurs Up tour stop in Gaffney. “I really thought he was running with his eyes closed. I’m being serious. We had to teach him how to understand leverage on defense.”
Bentley said Williams came along in terms of understanding the game in front of him, but he is still working on toughness.
The coach called A.J. Turner a home run hitter. When talking about incoming freshman runner Rico Dowdle, he said, “He’s got some Gaffney blood in him, so I like him.”
Bentley praised Rod Talley as an individual on and off the football field. Both he and Darius Paulk were walk-ons who earned scholarships.
The former Byrnes coach also relayed a story about his first meeting with 5-foot-10, 220-pound tailback Mon Denson.
“I really thought he was a nose guard,” said Bentley, adding Denson was probably the most improved runner of the spring. “I told him after the first workout, ‘You might need to wear No. 66 instead of No. 36.’ ”
On the trail
Bentley told the crowd of 50 or so he’d been at nine Charlotte high schools Thursday before making his way down Interstate 85. The recruiting evaluation period ends soon, bringing a close to six weeks on the road for the Gamecocks staff.
Bentley promised that Will Muschamp’s staff would hammer the state, pointing out South Carolina ranks third in the nation in NFL players produced per capita.
North Carolina is ninth, and the Gamecocks have a plan for that as well.
“You’re going to see us saturate Charlotte,” Bentley said. “We’ve got three coaches, myself, coach (Shawn) Elliott and coach (Travaris Robinson), the defensive coordinator. We’re going to get into Charlotte, all across the Shelby area.”
He still has friends in the coaching world in that area from his Byrnes days, he said.
New world
Bentley saw an embodiment of the change in culture and approach since the new staff arrived. It came in senior linebacker Larenz Bryant through the eyes of high school coach Rocky White.
Bryant returned home to North Carolina for a camp. White coached against him when he was in high school and had also coached in Lancaster. The change was readily apparent to the coach.
“He said he was up there this week at a camp,” Bentley said. “He said, ‘Man, what have y’all done to him?’ ”
Notes
▪ Bentley called baseball player-turned-receiver-turned-tight end Hayden Hurst a future NFL football player, at least based on the talent he saw on the Plains as an analyst at Auburn.
▪ Bentley detailed the life coach role Marcus Lattimore was barred from taking, one that Andre Goodman will still hold. It will include skills such as writing a check and proper conduct on social media, all the way to how to treat a lady.
▪ With newcomers reaching campus, Bentley said top-rated junior college cornerback Jamarcus King arrived Wednesday. He also promised King will often play up in the face of wide receivers.
▪ Tight ends coach Pat Washington will join Kurt Roper in the press box on gameday. Bentley also said Roper will have an iPad in hand, allowing him to review film live between series.
▪ Chas Dodd, a former Rutgers quarterback and Bobby Bentley’s stepson, will be a graduate assistant with the Gamecocks’ strength program. He was an intern and almost joined New Mexico’s staff before Jeff Dillman found a way for him to stay in South Carolina.
This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Bobby Bentley needs David Williams to see the game better."