‘Jake is probably going to be the guy now’: Why Bentley may be Utah’s starting QB moving forward

After months of speculation about which quarterback would be Utah’s starter this season, last Saturday’s season-opening 33-17 loss to USC opened up even more questions about that position.

Sophomore Cam Rising started the game but played only a little more than three series before suffering a shoulder injury and being replaced by senior Jake Bentley. 

Rising had back-to-back turnovers — an interception and a fumble after being sacked — before his departure. He completed 3 of 6 passes for 45 yards and led a first-quarter drive that resulted in a 36-yard field goal by Jadon Redding, lifting the Utes to an early 3-0 advantage.

Coach Kyle Whittingham said after the game he didn’t know about Rising’s status and more would be learned Sunday. 

“Cam’s shoulder took a pretty good shot,” the coach said.  

What does that mean moving forward?

“Jake is probably going to be the guy now,” Whittingham said. “If Jake’s the guy, then we’ll rally behind him.”

“It’s not an excuse at all. I was fully prepared before the game to go out there and execute,” he said. “It took a little while to get going there as an offense. It’s something we’ll definitely look at and get better at.” — Utah quarterback Jake Bentley

Bentley, who started 33 games at South Carolina before enrolling at Utah as a grad transfer, completed 16 of 28 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown and two interceptions against USC. 

Overall, the Ute offense had five turnovers and scored only 10 points on the night. 

Bentley acknowledged that it’s difficult being thrown into competition in the middle of a game after starting on the sidelines, but he didn’t use that as a reason for his struggles. 

“It’s not an excuse at all. I was fully prepared before the game to go out there and execute,” he said. “It took a little while to get going there as an offense. It’s something we’ll definitely look at and get better at.”

Certainly, Bentley was disappointed in the offensive performance and as a team leader, he took responsibility.  

“This was our first game, our first opportunity to show what we’re all about. And unfortunately, we didn’t do that,” he said. “Offensively, we have to play better and that starts with me.”

“Jake came in and did some good things,” Whittingham said. “He had a couple of throws I know he wishes he had back.”

Utah’s best drive of the night came at the end of the first half that covered 75 yards and took nine plays and chewed nearly five minutes off the clock. 

On third-and-13 from the Ute 22-yard line, Bentley scrambled for 33 yards to give the offense new life, though a personal foul penalty on Utah on that play negated some of those yards. 

Bentley capped the drive by throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Samson Nacua to cut the Utes’ deficit to 24-17 at halftime.  

That was a drive that Utah is looking to build on. 

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But it wasn’t just the quarterback position that struggled Saturday against USC. The Trojan defensive line created some havoc for Utah’s offense.  

“I thought our O-line would take more control of the game than what happened,”  Whittingham said. “They didn’t really push people around like I had hoped we were going to.”

Whittingham also said that he wants to see tight end Brant Kuithe (four catches, 23 yards) and running back Ty Jordan (seven rushes for 32 yards and one reception for 21 yards) be more involved in the offense. 

“We’ve got to get the ball Brant Kuithe the ball more. Ty Jordan showed some good things early, then we kind of went away from him. We’ve got to continue to feed him the ball,” Whittingham said. “There’s a lot of things we learned as coaches tonight that we’ve got to get better at as coaches. That’s where it starts. We’ve got to do a better job of getting these guys prepared and do a better job of getting the ball in the hands of the playmakers.”

Without the school’s all-time leading rusher, Zack Moss, who now plays in the NFL, Utah’s run game netted 119 yards, led by Jordan Wilmore, who had 10 carries for 38 yards, with 29 of those coming on one play. 

Whittingham said the Utes will continue to spread the carries around until one back emerges. If not, the running back position will be carried out by-committee, which includes Wilmore, Jordan, Devin Brumfield and Micah Bernard. 

“We didn’t run the ball as effectively as I thought we would,” Whittingham said. “All four of those guys bring something different to the table. Ty Jordan gave us  a little spark early on. I think it was a mistake on our part to not keep feeding him the ball.”

As for the quarterback position, there’s plenty of room to grow. When asked about making the decision to start Rising, Whittingham explained the rationale. 

“It was a tight race but there was enough separation that we felt that we felt it was a unanimous decision among the coaches that were involved. There was not a great deal of margin between the two,” Whittingham said. “I think you saw Jake come in and he did a nice job. Cam’s a little more mobile. He has a little more escapability out of the pocket, although Jake pulled that ball down and it was our longest run of the night ... It was close and we like them both. We like Drew Lisk, for that matter. But Cam had done the better job all through camp when all was said and done …. That’s why we made that decision.”

Utah is scheduled to play Arizona State on Saturday. But the Sun Devils have had their last two games against Cal and Colorado canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program.

“Not sure who we’re going to play next week,” Whittingham said. “We’ll find out shortly.”

No matter who the Utes face next, Whittingham knows his team needs to get better.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us there and we’ve got to make improvements,” he said. “We’ve got to bounce back.”