The lesson Peyton Manning imparted on Jake Bentley this summer
Back in late June, South Carolina senior quarterback Jake Bentley raised a few eyebrows and made a few headlines by winning the Air It Out challenge at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy, beating out the likes of Heisman contenders such as Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert.
But of course, that wasn’t all Bentley got from the four-day experience training alongside NFL greats Archie, Eli and Peyton Manning, as well as some of the nation’s top college signal callers.
Speaking on the SEC Network’s “Paul Finebaum Show” about his weekly preparation for games, Bentley explained how Peyton Manning in particular imparted a key lesson he has taken into his senior season.
“One thing I learned from Peyton is that he never wanted to go into a game and have something happen where he felt like he didn’t have all the information he needed, or the game ended and he thought he didn’t watch film on that specific coverage or blitz,” Bentley said. “So kinda took that same mindset and really just want to watch as much as I can and get as much information as I can to get ready to go.”
Watching film of opponents is something Peyton Manning remains legendary for — stories about his work ethic, preparation and attention to detail are countless.
Considering the emphasis Bentley, coach Will Muschamp and the entire USC program has put on limiting turnovers this season, soaking up as much information as possible seems like a good start for the senior.
Also at the Academy, Bentley told Finebaum, he got the chance to develop relationships with other top quarterbacks and exchange ideas about the best way to handle pressure.
“I’d say me and (Georgia’s) Jake Fromm probably have the best relationship, but I really got to know (LSU’s) Joe Burrow, (Notre Dame’s) Ian Book, a lot of great guys down there at the Manning Camp. And ... it’s a very competitive environment on the field, but you really get to spend a lot of time with those guys and get to know them and really just talk about the different challenges we go through considering a lot of them are playing the same position in the national spotlight, so really just cool to see how they handle things and just kinda pick their brains about how they go about doing what they do,” Bentley said.
