Bobby Bentley balancing the roles of coach, dad this fall
Bobby Bentley has enjoyed seeing his son on the practice fields at South Carolina. At least, he has as much as he’s seen him.
“I am loving coaching running backs in this situation,” Bobby said. “You focus on your guys, and you don’t worry about what he’s got to do.”
Jake Bentley is a freshman quarterback for the Gamecocks. Bobby is the first-year running backs coach, and Jake’s dad.
“He’s got a heck of a quarterbacks coach in Kurt Roper. I don’t have to look over (Roper’s) shoulder,” Bentley said. “I can coach running backs and focus on that and do my job.”
Jake Bentley was a four-star prospect last year at Opelika (Ala.) High School while Bobby was an offensive analyst at Auburn. When Bobby and the rest of the family moved to Lexington for Bobby’s new job, Jake had three choices – stay in Alabama for his senior season, find a local high school for his final prep season or investigate the possibility of graduating early and coming straight to USC.
“Once he talked to his (high school) guidance counselors and figured out he had enough units, there really was no looking back,” Bobby said. “He decided he wanted to do it. It was his decision. I’m not sure it’s the best decision for everybody, but in Jake’s case, I think he was ready. I think he loves the state of South Carolina, I think it fit for him and it happened.”
Jake Bentley hasn’t spoken to the media since arriving at South Carolina due to head coach Will Muschamp’s policy of making all freshmen off limits for media interviews.
“I kind of pick on him every once in a while, say, ‘Jake, you know you could be in high school enjoying some time off.’ He says, ‘Dad, I’m doing the right thing,’ ” Bobby said. “He’s excited about it and it’s a lot of fun right now. It’s just wonderful for our family to be all together, and I’m just proud of everything that he’s accomplished.”
This story was originally published August 23, 2016 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Bobby Bentley balancing the roles of coach, dad this fall."