It was a huge loss for South Carolina when quarterback Jake Bentley underwent season-ending foot surgery earlier this week.

Bentley became the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback midway through his freshman year in 2016, and he’s played well since. He was coming off his best season, as he passed for 3,171 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2018.

Bentley won’t have a chance to build off that this year after undergoing surgery on Tuesday. During his Thursday call-in show, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said Bentley would have a five-month recovery which would include three months on not weight bearing, according to 247sports.com’s John Del Bianco.

“I’m extremely disappointed for Jake,” Muschamp said during the show. “He’s a guy that has given everything to this program. You go back to our first year, we’re 2-4 and struggling mightily and he comes in and really spark plugs our football team. He has given so much to the University of South Carolina.”

It’s possible that Bentley hasn’t played his final game for the Gamecocks, though. This year will count as a redshirt season, and he’ll have one year of eligibility remaining entering 2020.

In the meantime, South Carolina has moved forward with true freshman Ryan Hilinski at quarterback. He’ll look to lead the Gamecocks to an upset victory on Saturday, when they host No. 2 Alabama.

The Gamecocks and the Crimson Tide are set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.