Former 4-Star QB Jake Bentley Transfers to Utah from South Carolina

Former South Carolina Gamecocks starting quarterback Jake Bentley is headed to the Pac-12. 

On Monday, Bentley announced he is transferring to Utah after four seasons with the SEC program:

Bentley arrived at South Carolina in 2016 as a 4-star prospect, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and was the team's primary quarterback before this season. He played 33 games from 2016 through 2018 but appeared in just one in the 2019 campaign because he suffered a season-ending foot injury in the opener against North Carolina.

This comes after Bentley wrote a long message thanking head coach Will Muschamp, his teammates and the coaching staff while announcing he planned on transferring for his final year of eligibility after graduating South Carolina on Dec. 16:

Bentley became the Gamecocks' starter for the final seven games of his freshman season and threw for 1,420 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He was named a team captain as a sophomore and remained in such a position for the rest of his South Carolina career.

He threw for 2,794 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a sophomore and 3,171 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as a junior. He also led the Gamecocks to bowl games all three years and was named the MVP of the Outback Bowl victory over Michigan on Jan. 1, 2018.

Freshman Ryan Hilinski started for South Carolina the rest of this season after Bentley suffered the injury.

Bentley now heads to a formidable Utah team that finished 11-2 and reached the Pac-12 Championship Game this season. However, star quarterback Tyler Huntley is a senior, which means the transfer figures to compete with Jason Shelley for the starting job next season.

Shelley took over for the Utes during the 2018 season when Huntley suffered an injury.