Bentley may play for Gamecocks

Jake Bentley’s schedule was clearly defined last weekend.

The South Carolina freshman quarterback took his weekend off to return to Opelika, Ala., to watch his should-be high school teammates play. He led the team’s postgame prayer and cheered from the sideline as Opelika won 38-37. He spent time with his high school coach, Brian Blackmon, who was excited to catch up with a former player who he said is like his own kid.

But what lies ahead this weekend for Bentley is less clear. He might be standing on the South Carolina sideline once again. He could be the second true freshman quarterback to play for the Gamecocks this season.

Blackmon doesn’t know what is coming, but he knows what he heard in Bentley’s voice last weekend.

“He was just talking like a guy who was ready to play,” Blackmon said. “He was talking like a guy who felt confident that he would be able to do this.”

Whether he gets that opportunity Saturday against Massachusetts at Williams-Brice Stadium has yet to be announced. Coach Will Muschamp has done little to squash the buzz that the talented freshman and son of running backs coach Bobby Bentley is set to make his college debut. He also has not come out and said Bentley will play, just that the Gamecocks have “a good plan” in place at quarterback.

Blackmon heaped heavy praise on Bentley on Thursday afternoon. He lauded his physical skills, including his sneaky ability to run. He described Bentley as a winner with a contagious passion for the game, on top of a drive to be a great quarterback. He saw those traits — all the check marks a college coach wants in a quarterback, he said — for two years at Opelika. He was set to see them for a third year, but Bentley elected to forgo his senior season entirely and enroll at South Carolina over the summer.