Slow start, no problem for South Carolina’s Jake Bentley

The start was not what South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley wanted.

The finish about made up for it.

Against Arkansas, the sophomore South Carolina signal caller continued what seemed like a trend of slow starts. His first 15 passes netted 28 yards on five completions.

His next 16 produced 11 completions for 171.

“Arkansas did a great job of mixing it up,” Bentley said. “What we saw on film and what they did at the beginning of the game looked a lot different. It took us a while it adjust. If anything, that’s what I’m most proud of the guys for is no one got rattled, no one got down.”

Early, Arkansas was getting free rushers, and Bentley showed some signs of frustration, slinging balls off his back foot while getting bumped or pressured.

Things swung early in the second quarter. Bentley lofted a ball over a linebacker to Hayden Hurst who ran the rest of the way for a 62-yard score. Later in the quarter, he hit OrTre Smith for 23 yards and deftly managed the final 54 yards of a touchdown drive in under a minute.

“I’m glad he’s our quarterback,” Will Muschamp said, noting there was one corner route to Hurst he probably could have hit. “He’s a gutsy performer. Our guys rally around him. There’s a lot of intangible things that he touches within our organization that makes him a special player.”

Bentley finished with 199 yards and three scores. He’s got 1,456 yards, a new career high, 12 scores and four interceptions on the season.

This story was originally published October 9, 2017 at 10:58 AM.