Why USC's Jake Bentley feels it's 'only right' to take these players under his wing
Had things gone the way they were supposed to, Jay Urich and Jake Bentley would’ve come to college in the same football recruiting class.
Instead, when Urich arrived on South Carolina’s campus, Jake Bentley was already a mostly established starter, having skipped his senior season and thrived in his first year on campus after wresting control of the starting job.
For the past year, they’ve shared a quarterback room, Bentley facing the ups and downs of his second year, while Urich redshirted behind him and Michael Scarnecchia. They’ve learned from, first, Kurt Roper and, now, Dan Werner.
But Urich has paid attention to Bentley as well, watching what he does and taking something important from his approach.
“I’d probably just say the level of commitment,” Urich said. “I think he’s such a guy that, and I’ve probably grown closer to him (in spring), just because he had a lot going on with preparing for games and stuff. We still were close, but I feel (in spring), we’ve gotten a lot closer.”
Being able to mentor a younger passer is in some sense a measure of paying it forward for Bentley.
He came to campus a little more than a semester after Brandon McIlwian enrolled early. Both were four-star, first-year players, finding their way with guidance from Perry Orth, a walk-on-turned-starter who now has a business coaching quarterbacks.
“Looking back at it, I had Perry help me,” Bentley said. “And I think it wouldn’t be right of me if I didn’t try to help those underneath me. Jay and Dakereon (Joyner), they love to learn, so it makes it easy.
“They’re constantly asking me something about a play or a read, so it’s easy to teach them. And it also makes me better … being able to verbalize it to them, getting to explain makes me learn it better.”
Bentley has thrown for more than 4,200 yards in his first 1 1/2 seasons, and is looking to take the helm of a new higher-tempo, run-pass option-heavy offense under Bryan McClendon.
Urich’s path at USC was much more as a developmental passer. After transferring from Blue Ridge to Wren to play in a more pass-happy attack, he ran for 1,000 yards as a junior and senior.
He looked somewhat raw in his first spring game, running for 38 yards and going 3-for-11 with an interception.
His growth as a passer will determine what kind of role he might play going forward. He’ll have at least one, maybe two more years left with Bentley, then be battling Joyner (who has development to do as well), and likely four-star 2019 commit Ryan Hilinski.
To that end, the second-year passer is savoring his time with Bentley and Scarnecchia.
“They're both students of the game,” Urich said. “They’re always in here, growing and learning, and I’m just trying to piggyback off that and try to be a shadow almost, try to learn from them, ask them questions. What part of my game do you think I need to work on?”
This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Why USC's Jake Bentley feels it's 'only right' to take these players under his wing."