SEC QBs post strong week, and Jake Bentley is keeping up

Jake Bentley is paying attention.

He has a lot to focus on inside the football building and on the field during a weekend. There’s homework and academics on that plate as well.

But he’s also aware of what his SEC brethren are doing.

Week 1 was a good one for passers in the league. Ten had passer ratings greater than 140, five above 165. Drew Lock and Shea Patterson bombed away, Danny Etling and Kyle Shurmur were highly efficient. Bentley held his own and posted a day where the statistics belied how impressive he looked.

He’s not necessarily holding himself up against them.

“I definitely keep up with everyone in our conference,” Bentley said. “I thought there were a lot of guys that had really big games. I don’t necessarily try to compare as much as just watch them.”

Even some of the players who weren’t statistically impressive did notable things. Alabama’s Jalen Hurts won a massive game against Florida State. Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham showed well in his first action on the Plains. Jake Fromm came off the bench for Georgia and looked good.

Bentley threw for 215 yards with three scores and an interception, but made some high-level throws.

Part of the reason Bentley isn’t comparing himself with the other passers in the conference is he’s friends with some of them.

“Me and the guys that were at the Manning camp, we got pretty close,” Bentley said. “Rooming with Austin Allen and being with Jalen (Hurts) a lot. Just kind of got close.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2017 at 2:03 PM with the headline "SEC QBs post strong week, and Jake Bentley is keeping up."