‘He’ll be ready.’ South Carolina players react to change at quarterback
A weekly tradition with Jake Bentley wasn’t renewed Tuesday.
The fourth-year starting quarterback didn’t have his usual game week news conference, further confirming his absence from South Carolina’s next game with Charleston Southern and beyond.
But other Gamecocks spoke — on behalf of the injured Bentley and Ryan Hilinski, USC’s new QB1.
“He’s a great quarterback,” sophomore cornerback Israel Mukuamu said of Hilinski, a freshman and former four-star recruit from California. “He knows how to throw the ball. The coaches trusted him, so that’s why he’s going to start this week. Just excited for him to play.”
Carolina hosts CSU at noon Saturday. It’ll mark Hilinski’s debut and Bentley’s second missed game since he became starter midway through the 2016 season. The senior has a mid-foot sprain, stemming from the final play of the North Carolina loss last week. A knee injury held him out against Missouri last October. The new injury could keep him out all season.
“It’s devastating,” senior running back Rico Dowdle said of Bentley. “I hate it for him.”
Bentley has 19 career wins (No. 6 in school history), 7,527 passing yards (No. 4), 55 touchdowns (No. 3) and 30 interceptions (No. 5). He went 16-of-30 for 142 yards, a score and two fourth quarter picks against the Tar Heels.
“It was a sad thing,” said senior offensive lineman Donell Stanley when asked for his initial reaction to the Bentley injury news. “I saw it Sunday and called him and he told me the diagnosis and everything like that. So we sat down and I told him I’m behind him 100 percent. I’ve been in his shoes and I know how he feels.”
Stanley, a sixth-year senior, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 2016 opener against Vanderbilt. An ankle injury kept senior defensive end D.J. Wonnum out of eight games last season.
“It was devastating (to hear) Jake, he’s a talented quarterback for us, that he’s hurt,” Wonnum said. “But you know, next man up. I went down. We got guys who can step in and do things for us.”
Enter Hilinski. The listed 6-foot-3, 230-pounder made noise late in camp when he beat out Dakereon Joyner for the No. 2 spot. Now, he’s poised to be South Carolina’s first true freshman to start at QB since Bentley three years ago.
“He’s a good player,” Wonnum said. “He’s really talented. When his time is called, he’ll be ready.”
Charleston Southern (0-1) is coming off a 33-point point loss to Furman. Perhaps the nature of opponent helps ease Hilinski in before facing No. 2 Alabama on Sept. 14.
“Ryan,” Stanley said, “everybody knows what he brings. He’s a good guy, athletic. He knows how to throw, he knows our offense. We just got to protect him and do a good job with that and let him do what he does.”
Hilinski, who threw for over 2,700 yards as a high school senior, was ranked by 247Sports as the country’s No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class. He enrolled at USC in January.
“He’s got a great arm,” Dowdle said. “Ryan, I’ve seen him get better and better each day he’s been here. I’m looking forward to him getting out there Saturday and seeing what he can do.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 11:47 AM.
