How Jake Bentley handled the inevitable NFL question at SEC Media Days

The question was almost assured to be posed to South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley at SEC Media Days on Thursday.

It ended up being more detailed than most, asking what he thought he had to do, specifically in the Gamecocks biggest games, to put himself in position to leave for the NFL draft in 2019. The coach’s son fell back on the words of coach Will Muschamp.

“Thing that coach Muschamp preaches is to be where your feet are,” Bentley said. “That just means, wherever you’re at, put all your focus and attention on that.”

He added he tries not to look at that aspect at all.

He’ll have that choice to make at year’s end, simply because of his build and style. He looks and seems like an NFL pocket QB: tall, good arm, good understanding of the game and a little mobility to boot.

But he’s also got mechanical and footwork adjustments to make, a topic that’s been well-documented. Coming off a promising freshman season, he posted 2,794 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Those are solid numbers, but not the kind that scream “head off to the NFL.”

That hasn’t stopped a few projections from pegging him as a first-round pick. If he finds his groove in Bryan McClendon’s new offense, he could put up numbers and perhaps show what’s needed to make that jump.

But for the moment, that’s not where his feet are.

“I’m really just not trying to focus on anything next level,” Bentley said. “Really just trying to do whatever I can to win games for our team this year.”