Will Muschamp's program will add yet another talented young quarterback in 2016 to an already robust crop. The highly touted Jake Bentley, ranked the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2017 per ESPN, has announced that he will reclassify as a 2016 recruit and enroll at South Carolina this summer.
Bentley will graduate a year early from Opelika High School in Alabama and will forgo his senior season there.
Bentley made his announcement on Twitter and said, "God has prepared me for this moment and I am ready for the next step in my life. Things happen for a reason and I am ready to join Gamecock Nation this summer."
Bentley is the son of new running backs coach Bobby Bentley.
South Carolina currently has four other quarterbacks who took snaps last season and remain on the roster: rising senior Perry Orth, rising junior Connor Mitch, rising sophomore Lorenzo Nunez and rising sophomore Michael Scarnecchia. They also will have freshman Brandon McIlwain, who has been receiving a healthy share of snaps this spring and is considered to be one of the favorites to land the starting job.
How Bentley factors into the mix next season remains unclear. It has been speculated that South Carolina might try to redshirt him, but this is clearly a significant development for the program. Getting Bentley immersed in the program at such an early stage should allow the Gamecocks to speed up his development.
Bentley's decision to enroll a full year ahead of schedule is essentially a nearly unprecedented move. The last time a quarterback prospect bypassed his senior high school season to enroll at a power-five program was back in 2003 when John David Booty went to the University of Southern California.