South Carolina Football: Former Gamecock quarterback lands new coaching opportunity

The South Carolina football program has seen several alums land new coaching opportunities this offseason. The latest is former Gamecock quarterback Jake Bentley.

Bentley, who spent four years with the South Carolina football team before transferring to Utah and South Alabama after medical redshirts, has been in the coaching world since his playing days ended. He began his coaching career with the Florida Atlantic Owls as an offensive analyst before spending the 2023 season as the quarterbacks coach with the North Alabama Lions.

Now, Bentley is heading to the high school ranks as he is the new quarterbacks coach at Rock Hill High School under first-year head coach Randy Birch.

Bentley is no stranger to high school football coaching as his father Bobby (a former Gamecock assistant) was a legendary high school coach in the Palmetto State who won four state titles as the head coach at Byrnes High School.

Both Bentley men left the college coaching world to return to high school this year as Bobby left an analyst job at UCF under Gus Malzahn to become the headman at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee. Jake Bentley is making his move to high school in his return to the Palmetto State.

During his South Carolina football career, Bentley became the starter about midway through his true freshman campaign in 2016 and held onto the job until a foot injury ended his 2019 season after one game.

He finished his time in Columbia 5th in South Carolina Gamecocks history in passing yards and 3rd in passing touchdowns. Had his senior year not been cut short by the foot injury, he would have set the career passing touchdowns record (surpassing Steve Taneyhill's number) and would have challenged Todd Ellis' passing yardage total.

Bentley's older brothers are also coaches as Shuler is the quarterbacks coach at Charleston Southern, and Chas is an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Rutgers.