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GoldanDBlack express • volume 25, express 2 • 18 a pick-six. But he had errors, too. On Western Michi- gan running back Jarvion Franklin's 61-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Bent- ley jumped left toward an outside gap when he should have been inside. The good, however, far outweighed the bad. "You're just seeing the tip of the iceberg right now with him," Coach Darrell Hazell said. "I just think he's so natural. It's a natural position for him, where he's very instinctive. He sees things. … He's physical and he can run, and he's smart. "So I think he's going to be a great player for us, a great player." Bentley showcased his po - tential early in camp. On Day 1, he was with the fourth team, but only five days later he was sharing No. 1 repetitions on the weakside with veteran Joe Gilliam. The rotation, for the most part, continued in the days leading up to the opener. But with Robinson not at 100 percent Saturday — he was battling a knee infec- tion — Gilliam was asked to play a bit in the middle, and on the strongside, too, where the Boilers were ineffective. That left Bentley to get a linebacker- high, unofficially, of 66 snaps against the Broncos. "With that first game, got a little jitters out," Bentley said. "Sometimes, you're a little nervous, but I just went out there and played. Now, it's Week 2 and I treat it like it's another game. Al- though it's in the big stage, The Furnace once again, I just have to play my role on the defense. "You can't do more than your job, because that's when you start making mistakes. I go out with a clear mind and have tunnel vision." Bentley's likely to see a lot of snaps again. With Gilliam having moved to the strongside due to Jimmy Herman's broken thumb, Bentley will be a big part of the game plan. And he'll be ready, de - spite missing a day of practice. "I try to study as much as I can, so I'm ready on game day," he said. "Coming to practice, you've got to have a business-like attitude, so that on game day you let the but- terflies out and play football, have fun. This is definitely the work part of it, the practice, then you can go out there and play on Saturdays. "My teammates expect the best out of me and I expect to give them that." The moment is unlikely to be too big, even for a freshman. "He's a very soft-spoken guy, and he doesn't share much with many, but you can tell his intensity level will take him to great heights," Hazell said. "I really think that every- thing that he does is important to him. "He's very mature beyond his years." j Tom Campbell Bentley takes a quiet, business-like approach to football, but underneath lies an intensity to be great. unlocking more tomorrows our mission is discovery our goal is to cure cancer. cancerresearch.purdue.edu Dorothy Teegarden, PhD Professor, Foods and Nutrition "I think he's going to be a great player for us, a great player." Coach Darrell Hazell on Ja'Whaun Bentley