South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley, who started three seasons for the Gamecocks, will transfer to Utah for his final year of eligibility, he announced Monday.
Bentley, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in South Carolina's first game of the year, announced his intent to transfer last week after he graduates on Dec. 16.
Excited for this next step, can't wait to be a part of the Utah family! #GoUtes @Utah_Football pic.twitter.com/sxgpUcgbsq
— Jake Bentley (@JakeBentley19) December 9, 2019
He finished his South Carolina career 19-14 as the starter with 7,527 passing yards, 55 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. Freshman Ryan Hilinski took over as South Carolina's starter after Bentley's injury. After a 4-8 finish, South Carolina demoted offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon and fired quarterbacks coach Dan Werner.
Bentley started the final seven games of his freshman season, going 4-3 with 1,420 yards and nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He became a captain for the first time as a sophomore in 2017 and held the designation throughout the rest of his career.
Utah senior quarterback Tyler Huntley, a candidate for the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year award, threw for 2,966 yards with 18 touchdowns to just four interceptions this year. One of his backups, sophomore Jason Shelley, saw significant playing time in 2018 (98-of-168, 1,162 yards, 5 TDs, 6 INTs) after Huntley went down with an injury but attempted just 11 passes this year.