Meet the next football member of the Bentley family tree. Yes he’s a QB, too
Bobby Bentley pulled his son Brooks to the side after a break between drills during the Carolina Experience camp last month in Charlotte.
Since the coronavirus started back in March, Division I college coaches haven’t been allowed to go on the road recruiting and aren’t allowed at camps like this. But Bobby Bentley, South Carolina’s tight ends coach, wasn’t recruiting on this hot summer day. He was just being a dad and watching his son compete at the camp, which featued more than 200 athletes.
“Just trying to get some competition,” said Brooks Bentley, who competed in a few camps over the summer. “That is the main focus. During the corona break, you miss getting a chance to compete against all these guys.”
Brooks Bentley is the youngest of Bobby’s four sons and is about to begin his sophomore year at River Bluff High School. He plays quarterback, a staple of the Bentley household.
Brooks’ three older brothers — Chas, Shuler and Jake — also played quarterback in high school and college, and Brooks hopes to do the same. He picked up his first college offer from Eastern Kentucky last month.
“It is definitely something that is always on your mind and you want to do the right thing no matter what,” Brooks said of playing quarterback. “It helps having a dad and brothers that have played the position.
“The biggest thing I learned from my brothers and dad is, respect everyone and listen to what they have to say to you. “
Bobby Bentley was quarterback at Presbyterian College before becoming a state championship-winning high school coach at Byrnes and later getting into college coaching. He is entering his fifth season with the Gamecocks.
Chas Dodd, the oldest of the group, played at Rutgers and is now strength coach at Miami. Shuler Bentley played at Old Dominion and Murray State and is a quarterbacks coach at Troy University.
Jake Bentley was the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback for three seasons before transferring to Utah in the winter. Utah had its season put on hold when Pac-12 announced it wouldn’t play football in the fall.
Brooks, Bobby and Jake spent a lot of time over the spring during the COVID-19 shutdown working out and throwing. The Bentleys also are in a group chat together, which acts as a mini film session of breaking down the quarterback position.
“Chas chimes in, Shuler gives his critique and obviously Jake critiquing Brooks — and Brooks is critiquing Jake,” Bobby said. “It has been awesome. During the corona break, I have been able to work with him everyday and we had a lot of time to work together.
“Brooks played basketball growing up and he has great vision and great field awareness and sometimes that is hard to coach. He understands movement patterns in space and concepts really well at an early age.”
River Bluff coach Blair Hardin says Bentley has all the attributes a coach’s son would have, including coachability and a passion and desire for the game.
“Enjoyed really the last 10 to 12 months, he has grown mentally as a football player,” Hardin said. “His confidence has grown. He has developed a great mindset and commitment to the weight room.”
Brooks made strides in the offseason. He grew four inches and put on 25 pounds, and is now up to 6-foot-2 and 178 pounds.
As a freshman, Bentley was moved up to varsity when starting quarterback Michael Rikard suffered an ACL injury. He saw time in River Bluff blowouts and scored his first touchdown against Pelion on Sept. 7, 2019.
Bentley will battle with Jackson Stone for the team’s starting quarterback spot. Stone became the team’s starter last season after Rikard was injured. The Gators went 9-3 last year and made it to the second round of the playoffs.
“We have become best friends,” Bentley said of him and Stone. “To have someone push you every practice, it makes the whole thing better.”
River Bluff 2020 Football Schedule
Sept. 25 at Lexington
Oct. 2 at South Aiken
Oct. 9 vs. Dutch Fork
Oct. 16 vs. Chapin
Oct. 23 at White Knoll
Oct. 30 vs. Lugoff-Elgin
Nov. 5 at Northwestern
