Heading into Week 8 of the 2016 season, the South Carolina Gamecocks were sitting at 2-4 and coming off of a bye week to take on UMass.

Needing to make a big change to shake things up, coach Will Muschamp decided to put true freshman QB Jake Bentley under center for the game against the Minutemen.

Though the bold move immediately paid off, as Bentley led the Gamecocks to a 4-3 record (including a Birmingham Bowl loss to USF) and cemented his status as one of the best young quarterbacks in the conference, Muschamp needed a pep talk before he officially declared Bentley the team’s starter.

According to The State, Muschamp said he called South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner to ask if it was ridiculous that he was considering playing Bentley:

“I’ll be honest with you, I called Tanner,” Muschamp said. “He’s a coach. I said, ‘Am I wrong to think we need to play a high school senior?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely not. I’m not telling you what to do, but if your gut tells you do it, do it.’”

Bentley threw for 1,420 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions in his limited time as the Gamecocks’ starter.

Entering the 2017 season, the pressure is on the now-sophomore quarterback as expectations are high in Columbia.