South Carolina Football: Former assistant gets new coaching gig

Two years ago, former South Carolina football assistant coach Erik Kimrey (also famous for "The Fade" as a player and for being a high school coaching legend in the state of South Carolina) left the Gamecock program to return to the high school ranks, taking over the head coaching gig at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

On Monday, it was announced that another former Gamecock assistant who was a South Carolina high school coaching legend left a college gig to take over as a head coach of a Tennessee high school.

Bobby Bentley, who coached running backs, tight ends, and quarterbacks at different times during his tenure with the South Carolina football program, is leaving UCF to become the head coach at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee. He will take over for resigned coach Jonas Rodriguez who led BGA to the first round of the Tennessee Division II-AA playoffs in 2023.

Before making his way to the Gamecocks, Bentley won four state championships in a row at Byrnes High School before short stints at Presbyterian, back at Byrnes, and Auburn.

Working under head coach Will Muschamp and three different offensive coordinators, Bentley coached running backs from 2016-2018, was the interim quarterbacks coach for the Outback Bowl in 2017, and coached tight ends in 2019 and 2020. While coaching quarterbacks for the Outback Bowl, he had the chance to coach his son Jake Bentley, who started games from 2016-2019 before transferring after an injury.

After not being retained when Shane Beamer was hired to leave the South Carolina football program, Bentley coached at South Florida and UCF over the last three seasons. Ironically, he was followed in Columbia by Kimrey. Barring a realignment in Tennessee, Battle Ground Academy and Baylor School will not meet up in the postseason as Baylor plays in Division II-AAA, one level above BGA.

The South Carolina football running backs coach position (the one held by Bentley for three seasons) currently is open as Montario Hardesty was let go last week.