Dwight "Bill" Bentley (born May 16, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Louisiana-Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

and was drafted in the third round of the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

High school career

Bentley attended

Pahokee High School Pahokee High School (also known as Pahokee Junior Senior High School) is a historic school in Pahokee, Florida. It is currently located at 900 Larrimore Road. On November 15, 1996, The old Pahokee High School building on E. Main St. was added t ...

Pahokee, Florida Pahokee is a city located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,649 in the 2010 census. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, 57% of the residents of Pahokee were African American and 33% ...

, where he was teammates with

Pernell McPhee Pernell McPhee (born December 17, 1988) is an American football outside linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. He has also played for the Chicago ...

and

Janoris Jenkins Janoris Jermain Jenkins (born October 29, 1988), nicknamed "Jackrabbit", is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Alabama and Florida and was draft ...

. During his senior year, he led all defensive backs with 25 tackles, and also had 6 interceptions. Bentley was named to All-Area First-team and All-State Second-team. He helped Pahokee win three Florida Class 2A state championships. He did not receive any college football offers his senior year.

College career

In 2007, he played a season at

Dodge City Community College Dodge City Community College (DC3, DCCC) is a public community college in Dodge City, Kansas, United States. History Campus Founded in 1935, Dodge City Community College was located on the third floor of the Senior High School Building at 1601 ...

. He did not play that season, garnering himself a redshirt. Considered only a two-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', his only scholarship offer came from

, which he accepted. In 2008, as a redshirt freshman, he played in 12 games, starting first 10 at cornerback. In 2009, he played in 12 games, starting in 11 of them. He led all defensive backs on his team with 58 tackles and had three interceptions. He was named All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention for his performance that year. As a junior in 2010, he started in 11 games, missing one game due to an ankle injury. He recorded 58 tackles, including 3 for loss and one interception. In his senior season in 2011, he recorded 71 tackles, a new career high, including five for loss, and also had three interceptions. He was named to the second-team All-Sun Belt.

Professional career

Bentley was ranked among the top ten cornerback prospects of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He was drafted by the

with the 85th overall pick., the ninth cornerback selected. On May 11, 2012, Bentley agreed to terms on a four-year contract with the Lions. On June 18, 2015, the Lions waived Bentley due to injury concerns. On November 18, 2015, the Lions signed Bentley after numerous injuries to cornerbacks. On December 29, 2015, Bentley was waived.

References

External links

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Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Bill 1989 births Living people American football cornerbacks Detroit Lions players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players People from Pahokee, Florida Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from the Miami metropolitan area Pahokee High School alumni