U of L head coach Bobby Petrino smiles during practice. Mar. 29, 2016
A day after after he received a scholarship offer from the University of Louisville football team, three-star Belfry High School offensive lineman Cole Bentley said late Wednesday that he expects to announce his college decision on June 12.
Bentley said in a phone interview that he plans to make a visit with his parents to the school he picks on June 12 and make a pledge while he’s there. Bentley, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound guard who is rated the No. 2 junior in the state and the No. 25 player at his position nationally by Rivals.com, declined to say which visit he’ll be taking that day or if he has a single favorite in mind. But he said Louisville is now among his top six choices.
“It’s a really big offer to me because it’s in-state,” he said. “It’s a big program. They’re a winning program. They’re an on-the-rise program that’s getting better each year.
“It might be crazy to say, but I think that in a couple years, with a strong recruiting class in my class and the next class, they’re a national championship-caliber team. That’s definitely something that’s exciting.”
Bentley said he is most interested in his four power-conference offers – U of L, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Purdue – as well as Cincinnati and Memphis. He has a long list of other offers from non-power conference programs.
Louisville co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Chris Klenakis made the offer to Bentley on Tuesday, telling him he liked Bentley’s footwork and athleticism. Klenakis then passed the phone to head coach Bobby Petrino, who reaffirmed the offer and invited Bentley to camp this summer.
“It’s one of them I’m leaning toward, and I’m hoping to get back down again,” said Bentley, who visited U of L without his parents a few months ago.
Asked if Louisville is in consideration to be the school he visits on June 12, Bentley said, “It’s very in consideration.”
Bentley said Klenakis told him he was interested in him as a center or left guard. Bentley, a left-hander, hasn’t played center before, but he said he feels comfortable snapping the ball.
“I think (Klenakis) is a great coach, and he produces a lot of NFL players, and it’s something I’m definitely kind of excited about the offer from there because of that,” Bentley said. “He knows what he’s doing, for sure, and I think he’s an all-around good guy, too.”
Bentley was a third-team Courier-Journal All-State pick as a defensive lineman. He played defensive tackle and blocking tight end for state champion Belfry, so he didn’t garner votes for offensive line, even though five-star Lafayette tackle Jedrick Willis is the only better college O-line prospect in the state.
Bentley said the University of Kentucky, which has recruited him but not offered, is not heavily in the mix at this point, and he said the Wildcats have said they don’t plan to sign a guard in 2017.