Jake Bentley tops Trevor Lawrence, Kelly Bryant at Manning Passing Academy challenge

Competing against the best passers in the country at the Manning Passing Academy, South Carolina’s Jake Bentley walked away with a little hardware.

The rising senior won the event’s Air It Out challenge, which involved hitting moving golf carts with passes. In a field that according to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger’s Nick Suss included Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Missouri’s Kelly Bryant, Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Southern Cal’s J.T. Daniels, Bentley reportedly hit all the carts in the first round and then edged Appalachian State’s Zac Thomas in the tie-breaker.

Bentley has been a consistent counselor at the academy, which regularly brings together some of the best quarterback talent in the country. The clinic, founded by Archie Manning, is held at Nicholls State University in Louisiana.

Bentley is coming into his fourth season in the program, having started the past 2 1/2 years. He’s thrown for 7,385 yards, 54 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He’s within striking distance of the program record for yards and should easily get the touchdown record assuming good health.

Coming off a season in which he threw for 3,171 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, he’ll have to adapt to life without his top target, Deebo Samuel. He still has Shi Smith and Bryan Edwards to throw to, and USC returns three of its top four pass catchers, plus gets OrTre Smith back after a season-ending injury.

The Gamecocks open the season Aug. 31 in Charlotte against UNC.

This story was originally published June 30, 2019 at 11:26 AM.