Jake Bentley is in charge of Utah’s football attack, even if it comes a little later than expected

Jake Bentley’s time at the University of South Carolina basically ended on August 31, 2019.

At the end of the Gamecocks’ season opener against North Carolina, Bentley suffered a lisfranc injury to his left foot. It required surgery, he was ready for the season. Bentley was later transferred to the University of Utah, arriving in time for the spring semester in January.

To Rising’s relief, Bentley was admittedly going up and down, finishing 16th from 28 to 171 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

“It was definitely a different experience for me, for sure, but I mentally prepared as best I could as the titleholder and tried to be ready when my name was called,” Bentley told ESPN700 on Tuesday night, about one hour before Washington The confrontation was announced after the cancellation of the state of Utah and Arizona. “I thought I did some good things, but definitely some things that I needed to clean up, for sure.”

Preparing as if you were the starter is very good, but it was asking Bentley a lot to come cold from the bench, against a USC defense that was flying all over the place against Utes in the beginning, not to mention the defensive front of the Trojans was clearly getting the better of Utah’s predominantly young offensive line.

Utah returned to work on Monday. At this point, Utes coach Kyle Whittingham knew that Rising would not be available, which means that Bentley was able to make all the representatives of the first team this week. This will probably make a big difference when he returns to the starting role where almost everyone thought he would start the season.

“I think it makes a big difference physically,” said Bentley. “Mental preparation is not going to change much, I will continue to do the same job in the film. This week will obviously be a little more difficult with the opponent’s situation, but physically, it will be a big difference, just getting comfortable with the routes and instead of maybe getting it once, getting it three or four times and really feeling comfortable and being ready to go from the first whistle. “

With 33 games as an SEC holder on his resume, Bentley arrived and the assumption was that he would eventually win the job. For a long time, this seemed likely, but Rising appeared at the end of the camp to gain the job, making Bentley, who had previously been elected captain, the reserve captain.

Things have now changed. Bentley is the incumbent, while Rising, the victim of circumstances last season when he sat down, and now the victim of a very bad luck of injury, is left to sit, watch, learn and, preferably, remain involved.

At least part of the responsibility for keeping Rising engaged lies with Bentley, not just as captain, but as owner of the quarterback’s room.

“He’s been in meetings for the past few days, still in prison, still trying to help,” said Bentley. “Cam is always a positive guy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Cam get down on himself or get down on anything.

“I just told him to keep his head up and he knows what I went through, I didn’t want to force him into anything, but I just said that I’m here for him. I think the most important thing for him is to stay mentally, and I think the most difficult thing is trying to find the next goal. “

How Rising’s injury affects Utah’s long-term quarterback situation is a question mark. To begin with, Whittingham said earlier this week that the injury is so severe that his availability for spring training is in doubt.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is playing this football season in disarray, the NCAA froze the clock for eligibility for football players. This means that Bentley, who would be in his final year of eligibility as a graduate transfer, could choose to return in 2021, but that remains to be seen.

The Utah quarterback’s room will also include four-star freshman Peter Costelli, the cornerstone of Whittingham’s latest recruiting class.