The “is he elite?” quarterback conversation isn’t debated ad nauseam in the college game like it is in the NFL, but if it were, Jake Bentley would be at the center of it.

Heading into his third season, the South Carolina quarterback is still a bit of an enigma. Some might argue that he’s one of the two or three best quarterbacks in the SEC — I did for a few weeks last year — while others would put him in the middle of the pack. The never-ending discussion about his youth is what the pro-Bentley crowd seems to bring up.

Well, that and the Deebo Samuel injury last year. The assumption by some is that with the dynamic Samuel back, Bentley is in line to become an elite SEC quarterback.

I’m saying let’s pump the breaks on that.

I’m in “wait-and-see” mode with Bentley because for the last season and a half, I waited and saw a quarterback with some tremendous skills look extremely average the vast majority of the time.

Not to get too caught up in the numbers, but they back it up. When he should have been figuring things out against some weak teams in the second half of the 2017 regular season, Bentley struggled. In those last 6 regular season games, Bentley failed to do the following things:

  • Average 1 touchdown pass per game
  • Throw multiple touchdown passes in a game
  • Throw for 250 yards in a game
  • Average 6.5 yards per attempt
  • Complete a pass for 40-plus yards
  • Score 11 points vs. a bowl-eligible team

What Bentley did do in that stretch was suddenly start throwing interceptions left and right. He had multiple picks in 3 of those 6 games, including the dud he had against Florida. He still made too many head-scratching throws like this one:

A new offensive coordinator isn’t going to suddenly make that decision-making process easier from Bentley. Those are the things on the field that, as a veteran quarterback, he has to be able to see. That goes double in the red zone.

Former South Carolina offensive coordinator Kurt Roper got plenty of blame for Bentley’s struggles. It comes with the territory. A talented quarterback struggles to maximize his potential, and naturally, it’s the coordinator who gets the boot.

Bryan McClendon’s ability to develop Bentley is going to determine whether South Carolina can stay in the SEC East race. Period.

After Roper was fired last December, we got to see McClendon run his offense in the Outback Bowl. That obviously fueled South Carolina’s comeback victory, McClendon’s promotion and some high 2018 expectations for the Gamecocks’ new-look offense. The hope is that the combination of McClendon and new quarterbacks coach Dan Werner will allow Bentley to develop the way many thought he would in 2017.

Bentley tied for fourth in the SEC last season with 18 TD passes but threw the second-most interceptions (12).

And while I like those coaching decisions that Will Muschamp made, this is still Muschamp. He’s still the defensive-minded guy who has never even coached an average offense (South Carolina was No. 108 of 129 FBS teams in total offense last year). He’s not the guy who has a history of trouble-shooting if things don’t click, which we were reminded of last year. It’s hard to imagine that he finally flipped the right switch to unleash a high-powered offense.

Again, let’s wait and see.

I’m still not ready to assume that Bentley, as smart as he is, is an elite decision-maker. You have to be at the quarterback position in the SEC. He needs to get rid of the ball quicker, and he needs improved offensive line play. Those things can go hand-in-hand.

I’m also curious to see how Bentley adjusts to life without safety valve Hayden Hurst. Now that Bentley doesn’t have the guy who he called “the best player in the entire draft,” will those talented young receivers be even more developed for having spent basically the entire season without Samuel? Maybe, maybe not.

South Carolina’s spring game on Saturday (March 31) will provide some insight on some of those things. I mean, Bentley probably won’t play very much and McClendon won’t bust out his bag of tricks for a spring game. But we could still see those young wideouts make big-time plays and maybe the offensive line doesn’t look half bad.

In all likelihood, the Bentley hype train isn’t slowing down unless a key skill player suffers a major injury.

Some will say he’s ready to have an All-SEC season and that he’ll lead South Carolina past Georgia for an East crown. Others, like myself, will put that fire take on the back burner until we see that long-awaited progression from Bentley.

If that doesn’t happen, don’t be surprised if frustrations boil over in Columbia.