When French Camp played Tupelo Christian last season, Coach Nathan Wright had his game plan all put together.
He was going to take Division I prospect C.J. Johnson and Macon Bentley and cover TCPS’s best receivers. But then Johnson was ejected for targeting and Bentley broke his collar bone, and the Eagles went wild with 61 points.
Wright said that shows what kind of player Bentley was for the Eagles last year.
“Last year, he broke his collarbone. He was one of our better receivers and cover guys and when he went down, it really hurt us,” Wright said. “He went down at a bad time in the Tupelo Christian game. And all they did was throw the football. C.J. got ejected on the second drive, so we had our whole defensive scheme based on covering those two covering their best two guys. They were my two best cover guys and it got ugly really quick.”
And Wright said he was just seeing what Bentley could offer after moving to French Camp.
“Last year was his first year to play football,” Wright said. “He came to us his 10th grade year and is a really good baseball player but had never played football. He’s a real go-getter and very smart. He’s quick and hard-working. He’s a straight A kid and gets everything done and takes care of business. He’s a fun kid to be around and easy to talk to. He is a very likable kid and hard-working.”
Wright said he certainly sees a bigger role for Bentley, who will be a senior this season. With Campbell gone to Northwestern, Bentley will be the leader of the secondary for the Panthers.
“He plays corner for us and will be our best cover guy this year. We will need him to match up against the other team’s best defender. His height will be an issue, but he has great closing speed and cover skills. He can keep up with most of the receivers that we play and can keep up with them,” Wright said. "He is a smart kid, so we can mix up coverages and change things up and he gets all of that. He may end up returning punts for us before it’s all said and done. That’s somewhere else that I may use him. “
Bentley will also see his role on offense increase, as well. Last year, he had five catches for 168 yards.
“He will have a bigger role on offense. I hope to use him in the running game as well. I can see putting him in motion and handing him the ball, throw to him some. I would love to use him in multiple position and utilize his abilities,” Wright said. “He may not be what I expect him to be, but I think he is going to surprise some people this year if he can stay healthy. It may be one of those years where we throw it a little bit more than we have in years past. He’s one of the reasons why. He’s not real big but he’s kind of deceptive and moves pretty well.”
Bentley, who is 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, understands that his speed is his best weapon at the end of the day.
“I’m moving to slot this year and coach is trying to get me the ball out in space a lot more,” Bentley said. “I’m pretty fast and can make plays in the open field. I’m usually open and it’s just a matter of getting the ball to me. I just want to make plays for my team.”
Wright said Bentley is plenty fast enough for what he needs him to do.
“He’s fast but he’s not a blazer. But I would say that he’s a consistent 4.5 kid. But he’s fast and definitely fast for us. He can go,” Wright said. “I’m really excited about him and this senior group. I wish there were more of them, but this is a really good senior class and he’s one of those kids. They are just good leaders, and it would be hard to say anything bad about them this year.”
Bentley stays busy and is all-in at French Camp, working at the school during the summer.
“He has put a great summer in and has worked hard this summer,” Wright said. “He has worked here at the school. He has been faithful. He gets off of work and comes to the weight room. He lives on campus so he’s here all the time. His dad works at the radio station and kind of runs that.”
Bentley also plays both baseball and basketball. In baseball for Wright, Bentley hit .397 and batted leadoff and played shortstop. He was also second on the team with 23 RBIs.
“He also plays basketball and baseball. He’s my shortstop and leadoff guy in baseball. He pitches and plays shortstop and those are the most important positions that we have. I think he was on base about 70 percent of the time last year and got to where he could hit all over the field,” Wright said. “He was a dead pull guy when he got here, but he’s learned how to hit the ball all over the field. He had several opposite field doubles last year which I was excited about. He’s a great base-stealer. He’s a threat any time he gets on.”
Bentley is also a standout in the classroom, sporting a 4.0 GPA and a 23 on the ACT.
“He’s going to get it done in the classroom. In fact, he entered a drawing competition and won it. His drawing is going to end up being in the National Library of Congress which is really cool. But he’s a really smart kid. He takes care of business in the classroom.”
While Bentley likes sports, he is an accomplished artist as well and has turned it into a sideline business. His recent work can be seen on his Instagram page at _maconart. His recent drawing of his younger brother, Robert, won an art contest for the first congressional district. The drawing will hang in the U.S. Capital building and Bentley will fly to Washington, D.C., to see it hung.
Macon Bentley recently won a national art contest for a drawing of his younger brother, Robert. Representing Mississippi’s first congressional district, the drawing will be displayed at the U.S. Capital Building in Washington, D.C.
Submitted photo
“I started drawing when I was about 8 or 9 and just enjoyed it. I just kept on working at it and started doing a lot of painting. I do some commission work and work on a lot of different media,” Bentley said. “I do some digital paintings and get them printed on canvas. The majority of work I do is engagements and wedding pictures. I do a lot of pet portraits, as well. I’ve thought about majoring in business in college but minoring in fine art. I have an Instagram page and post my work there and people message me for artwork.”
