Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-0vs Charleston Southern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#32
Jaylen Bentley
Junior defensive back on Georgia Southern's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 175 lb · Valdosta, GA · Valdosta
Returning to Georgia Southern for 2026
Recruiting
3★
LB recruit
No. 2563 nationally · Signed with Georgia Southern
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 defensive back on Georgia Southern's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Georgia Southern in 2024.
Jaylen Bentley
Third year in the Georgia Southern secondary, same address the whole way. The receipt on tape: 1 tackles against Charleston Southern, Week 1, 2026.
1 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2024
- Signed with Georgia Southern3-star out of Valdosta
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Georgia Southern
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Georgia Southern
Played his entire career under Clay Helton.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Clay Helton — 16-12 over that span.
2024Georgia Southern8-5HC: Clay Helton · Balanced
2025Georgia Southern7-6HC: Clay Helton · Balanced
2026Georgia Southern1-1HC: Clay Helton · Pass-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 1.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Clay Helton
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Georgia Southern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Georgia Southern | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Georgia Southern | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 13 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 31–0
1 TOT · 1 SOLO · 1 PD
Dominant 31-point win at home against Charleston Southern.
With M. Johnson — 281 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 66.4 · A. Smith — 40 AVG · 42 LONG · 4 NO
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Georgia Southern
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Georgia Southern
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: -1 net (17 in / 18 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Georgia Southern · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #78 · 2026 recruiting class #89
Background
2025-26: Played in 12 games … Saw action on 136 plays (93 defense, 43 special teams) … Tallied nine tackles on the season … Played two snaps on special teams at Fresno State … Had two tackles at USC … Was in for 32 defensive snaps in the win over Maine … Played five snaps on defense at James Madi...
The secondary · Georgia Southern
- #12Tracy Hill Jr.41 tackles · 2025
- #19Fabo Chaney27 tackles · 2025
- #29Devin Collier24 tackles · 2025
- #20Jaquari Brown16 tackles · 2025
- #32Jaylen Bentley9 tackles · 2025
16 more on the roster · Georgia Southern team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology