Until Jake Bentley suffered a season-ending foot injury against North Carolina to open the season, he was as much the face of South Carolina as coach Will Muschamp. The quarterback quickly became a leader inside the program as he steered the Gamecocks to be a dark-horse choice to win the SEC East.

However, the injury changed the outlook on Bentley’s career, and he still hasn’t made his decision about next season, and whether he’d leave for the NFL or return for another season as Ryan Hilinski has settled into the starting quarterback position as a freshman. Muschamp said at his regular press conference on Tuesday that Bentley would reach that decision in December. The coach said he wants Bentley to come back and play next season.

Muschamp was asked about his emotions being on the field with Bentley on Saturday as the program honored its seniors and players who might not return next season.

“It was tough,” Muschamp said. “No. 1 for all the seniors, the contributions they’ve had, the amount of time we’ve spent with these people … Certainly Jake’s been very special to me personally, the contributions he’s made to this program. The success he’s had as a quarterback here at the University of South Carolina and we’ll continue to have discussions with him moving forward on what his future will entail. He’s meant a lot to me personally and his family, the Bentley family’s meant a lot to me personally and I appreciate everything he’s done.”