B.C. and A.D.: Tyler Bentley's life after decision different than before
Tyler Bentley's in a drama-free zone. From the time the West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West defensive lineman committed to Kentucky, there haven't been any rumblings that would indicate he's anything less than solid.
That might surprise some who followed his recruitment in the months preceding his choice.
Very early in the recruiting process hardly anyone would have been surprised with Bentley-to-Kentucky predictions. After the Wildcats offered the big Lakota West defensive tackle didn't try to hide the fact that Kentucky was close to his heart.
He teased commitment dates, only to push commitment dates back. Then he set up other dates only to take a step back, seemingly time and again, and think things over more and more.
No, Bentley to Kentucky was never going to be a total shock, but there did come a time, several times really, when Bentley didn't seem like a lock at all.
Florida offered during the spring, on the same day the Gators offered 2019 teammate and defensive end Steven Faucheux. Bentley visited Gainesville, and he visited other universities like Ohio State and Tennessee. Over time, as the summer approached, what seemed like a sure thing started to look less and less likely.
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The offseason is a long period encompassing many months, but Bentley can partition his offseason, basically, into two halves: B.C. and A.D.: Before Commitment and After Decision. Life on either side has been drastically different since Bentley picked Kentucky.
Before the grind, there was the drama. And he played it up well, with the best of them.
"My offseason was pretty hectic with visits and stuff but it got calmed down after I committed," Bentley acknowledged.
When push came to shove, and push came to shove on June 11th, Bentley committed to Kentucky, opting not to pursue a student-athlete career at an established, more traditionally recognizable program and choosing the more familiar pipeline (for Lakota West) destination of Lexington.
And when Bentley put the drama behind him he really put it behind him. There haven't been lots of conflicting reports about where he'll visit or if he'll visit other schools. He hasn't teased a ton of interest in other schools or made tough-to-read remarks that leave fans feeling as though a second commitment tweet is needed to set the record straight.
Making an early summer decision allowed Bentley to shift his focus almost entirely to improving his football skills and his body. As the season draws closer, Bentley feels good about where he's at as a player just as he's set to embark on one last season of prep football.
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"Camp for me was a great experience," Bentley told Cats Illustrated this week. "I love grinding, day in and day out. Yeah, it was a struggle with those three-a-day practices, but we needed those to be great and I wouldn't trade those for anything in the world."
Making a decision was hard, but that grind since the decision, well, almost all football players are familiar with it but talent like Bentley's doesn't make it any easier. Inr the end Bentley knows, the tougher the grind, and the more serious it's taken, the greater glory. In Bentley's case, this season and beyond.
"Offseason was kinda hard with a new strength coach but we pushed through and definitely got stronger," the 6-foot-3, 280-pound three-star prospect told Cats Illustrated.
Bentley has always been a productive wide-body on the defensive line, able to help stuff the run and make some plays in the backfield. And you don't draw verbal offers from Florida, Michigan State, LSU, Alabama and others if you're just a body. But he does believe that the offseason's grind has helped take his game to another level and open some new avenues for development that expand the range of possibilities for what kind of player he can become.
"I improved by being more of an attack defensive lineman and getting my strength and speed up to top notch," Bentley said.