COLUMBIA, S.C. _ South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley will miss six weeks with a broken foot, a source close to the program confirmed Monday to The State. That elevates true freshman Ryan Hilinski into the starter spot for the Gamecocks.
Hilinski on Sunday posted a picture of himself running out of the tunnel from Saturday's game with the words, "Turn setbacks into comebacks," following a 24-20 loss to North Carolina. On Monday he posted Instagram and Snapchat stories with the photo and the words, "This one's for you Ty ... Let's Ride!" _ a reference to his late brother.
Local radio host Heath Cline first reported the news that Bentley would miss time. WACH Fox's Mike Uva added the news about the six-week injury and that Hilinski had been informed he would start.
A school spokesman told The State he could not confirm anything on the injury front. Will Muschamp meets with the media at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday ahead of this week's home opener against Charleston Southern.
Former Gamecocks wide receiver Tori Gurley confirmed to The State that Hilinski will play Saturday. Gurley told ESPN Upstate he spoke with Hilinski about it.
"I told him, 'Don't try to do too much and let it all hang out,' " Gurley told the radio station. "Just go out and play ball. Take care of the football. Make the open throws.
"Right now, he just needs to go out and get his feet wet."
The timeline would set Bentley's earliest chance of returning at the Florida game in mid-October.
Bentley began his senior season at USC by completing 16-of-30 passes against UNC for 142 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He went 2-of-9 for 15 yards and two crushing picks in the fourth quarter, a period the Gamecocks entered leading 20-9. They lost 24-20.
Bentley did not appear to have any kind of limp walking off the field and met with the media following the game.
"I gotta dig deep in myself and find out what I need to do better before I can help others," Bentley said following the game. "And I will. But I got to play better."
From the television feed, Bentley didn't appear to have any issues moving on South Carolina's second-to-last drive. He tried to chase down a North Carolina defender who intercepted his final pass and appeared to slip, with receiver Xavier Legette and the defensive back falling on his legs.
On the game-ending sack, his legs were spread wide as we went down with a pair of defenders falling on him.
Sunday evening, Muschamp had defended Bentley's play but said there would be some reshuffling on offense.
"It's not on one person," the Gamecocks coach said Sunday night on a teleconference with reporters, nodding to Bentley, "and I know everybody wants to blame one guy for it. But it's not the case. He needs to play better at that position, but we need to play better around him. And we didn't do it."
The senior missed one game last season with a knee injury. Michael Scarnecchia stepped in and led USC to a win against Missouri.
South Carolina football quarterback Ryan Hilinski warms up for the 2019 season opener. By Dwayne McLemore
Hilinski, a four-star recruit and California product, beat Dakereon Joyner for the No 2 job behind Bentley late in camp.
As a senior, Hilinski threw for 2,771 yards, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He saw his team riddled with injuries, decimating his offensive line and robbing him of top playmakers. As a junior, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound passer had 3,749 yards, 36 touchdowns, six interceptions and completed nearly 70% of his passes.
He was rated as the No. 64 player in the country by 247Sports.
"Ryan is extremely bright, extremely intelligent," Muschamp said during his Sunday teleconference. "He works hard at it, as far as the film work and different things are concerned _ nothing's changed, as far as his preparation. He's prepared himself the right way the entire time, so I've been very pleased with that."
Bentley came into this season with sights set on numerous program passing records. He currently sits at 7,527 yards and 55 touchdowns, with the program marks at 9,953 yards and 61 touchdowns. The senior had started 33 games.
Saturday's performance was Bentley's third-worst in yardage and fourth-worst in passer rating for a full game.
