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Pros and Cons of Utah Quarterback Jake Bentley

From an SEC starting quarterback that put up a great fight against 2018 national champion Clemson to fighting his way back onto the field, it's been quite the journey for Utah quarterback Jake Bentley

Ryan Kostecka

Entering the spring season, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was expecting to have nearly 6 months to evaluate and decide who would replace record-setting quarterback Tyler Huntley.

It's a massive spot to fill so Whittingham and Ludwig were going to need every bit of evaluation of the quarterbacks to see who would be able to fill those shoes and hopefully take Utah over the top of the mountain.

Alas, that wasn't meant to be as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world and canceled not only the spring football season, but the entire summer and most of the fall camp as well.

Now Whittingham and Ludwig will have three weeks to decide who will be replacing Huntley and leading Utah's offense against Arizona on Nov. 7 in its season opener.

Here's what graduate transfer Jake Bentley — from South Carolina — brings to the competition.

Former South Carolina and current Utah quarterback Jake Bentley
Former South Carolina and current Utah quarterback Jake Bentley

PROS
*In-game experience
*Dual-threat
*Strong arm
*Tougher competition
CONS
*Injury prone
*Chemistry w/ new teammates
*Understanding of new playbook
*Stop-gap role

The first thing that jumps off at you when checking out Bentley is his experience, particularly in the SEC. He went 19-14 in his career with the Gamecocks, including a 10-7 showing in the SEC, widely considered the most difficult conference in college football.

He led South Carolina to the Belk Bowl in 2018 and the Outback Bowl in 2017, even taking home MVP honors during the Outback Bowl. He's one of the most prolific passers in Gamecock history, ranking in the top-5 in career completion percentage (.625), career pass completions (626), passing touchdowns (55), career passing yards (7,527) and career total offense (7,670).

He also shows up in big games, throwing for 510 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-35 loss to Clemson during the 2018 season, the same year that the Tigers won the national championship. The 35 points scored by South Carolina were the most the Tigers gave up all season long.

Bentley can make all the throws needed as he plays with very good poise. He's got a very solid frame at 6-foot-4, 220-pounds and is considered a dual threat passer, often extending plays and drives by picking up yards when the pocket breaks down.

“Jake is a big addition for us. In today’s world with the (transfer) portal and the way things are changing, the quarterback room can change dramatically from year to year,” Whittingham said when Bentley signed. “That’s the position that undergoes the most change. We’re excited to have Jake in the room. He’s got a big arm, more of a pro-style guy.”

But despite all of those positives, there are some major cons that go against Bentley considering the shutdown of college football activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because Utah was only able to get three spring practices in, it means that Bentley got very little time to spend with his new teammates and develop some sort of chemistry with his offense. He also is learning a brand new playbook virtually, being unable to meet with the coaches and other quarterbacks to dissect the finer points of offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig's complicated offense.

And lastly, he's coming off a foot injury suffered last season that required surgery and caused him to miss the rest of the season. Not playing for almost a full calendar year, and with very little practice time as well, usually doesn't make for a good recipe of success.

You have to feel for the situation Bentley finds himself in right now because of the pandemic. If life was business as usual, Bentley probably would've been the starting quarterback when the Utes kick off against hated-rival BYU to begin the season. But now he finds himself beyond the eight-ball, and Rising for that matter, and trying to play catch up in time for prove himself worthy ahead of the season-opener against Arizona.

Bentley said Ludwig made it extremely clear, as did a lot of the other coaches, that nothing would be handed to him. He was only promised the opportunity to come in, compete and hopefully earn the job.

Only time will tell how things work out for Utah and Bentley, but until then he's doing everything he can to rise against the odds and emerge as the starting quarterback.

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Ryan Kostecka
RYAN KOSTECKA

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