What Ryan Hilinski can learn from Jake Bentley, and what he already has

The life of a college football quarterback has its ups and downs, especially in the social media age, and South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley has gone through the gamut.

That perhaps can be a teaching moment for Ryan Hilinski, a four-star freshman set to become Bentley’s understudy this spring.

Bentley has gone from conquering hero as a freshman and before his sophomore season to somewhat embattled as a junior, even as he threw for the third-most yards of any Gamecock ever. Hilinski is as active as any recruit on social media and said he’s ready for it.

“That’s literally the life of a quarterback,” Hilinski siad. “If you go in and you throw for 500 yards against your archrival and you do everything you can do, everyone is going to sing your praises. If you don’t score any points against Virginia. Everyone is going to boo you, do whatever they want to do on twitter. That’s just how life goes.”

Earlier in the recruiting process, Hilinski said he expected to redshirt if Bentley was still on campus, but now says he’ll leave that decision in the hands of the coaches.

Bentley is coming off a season in which he posted 3,171 yards, a 61.9 completion percentage, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. But his play was up and down, especially with a bad bowl performance and slow start to the season.

Hillinski had his own battles his final season in high school, throwing for 2,771 yards, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a team that faced a brutal schedule and lost a range of playmakers and much of its offensive line.

Now he’ll have the chance to learn the offense under Bentley and alongside the likes of Dakereon Joyner and Jay Urich. If Hilinski can live up to his billing as a top-50 national prospect, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him be right there for the No. 2 spot.

Bentley hosted Hilinski once during his recruitment and called him a “great kid,” complimenting how eager he was to learn.

Now he’s on campus, and that process can get underway.

“I think it’s awesome,” Hilinski said. “I think it’s going to be great to learn from him. He’s been here longer than most quarterbacks in their college career. It’s going to be awesome to learn from him, learn the playbook, learn what to do, what not to do in Columbia and stuff like that. I think it’s going to be great talking to him more than I already have.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 10:35 AM.