Former Gamecock QB Jake Bentley heading back south after transfer
Jake Bentley is ending his college career in the same state he finished high school.
The former South Carolina and Utah quarterback is transferring to South Alabama, Bentley told The State on Wednesday. Bentley later posted the move on Twitter.
“Final Chapter. Fired up to get to work!” Bentley posted.
South Alabama is an FBS school that competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars finished this past season 4-7 and have three underclassmen on depth chart quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Desmond Trotter was the team’s starting QB and threw for almost 2,000 yards this season.
South Alabama fired Steve Campbell after the season and hired Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.
Bentley was a standout quarterback and four-star prospect at Opelika High School in Alabama, roughly 200 miles from South Alabama in Mobile. He threw for 2,834 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior, then decided to skip his senior season and enrolle a year early with the Gamecocks. He took over the starting job midway through his freshman year and held it until the start of his senior year.
Across 34 games at South Carolina, Bentley threw for 7,527 yards, accumulating 55 passing touchdowns and 32 interceptions. Before he broke his foot in the opener of his senior season, he was expected to contend for several USC passing records.
At Utah this season, Bentley threw for 882 yards, with six touchdowns and six interceptions on a 62.1% completion rate. He also rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown. The son of former USC coach Bobby Bentley was elected a team captain and took over as starter during Utah’s first game of the year when the man in front of him, Cam Rising, went down with a shoulder injury.
Among Bentley’s season highlights included a win over undefeated Colorado and a 91-yard touchdown pass, the second longest in school history. Towards the end of the season, however, he was benched in favor of backup Drew Lisk. Utah also recently added a grad transfer quarterback from Baylor, Charlie Brewer, for next season.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 6:45 PM.
