LaVonta Bentley has been in love with football since he was four years old. His football career began in the backyard in Birmingham, Alabama, playing with his cousins and his friends. This backyard ball grew into a way of life for LaVonta. Football was not only an outlet for any stress or frustration, it was a critical means of staying out of trouble and avoiding the wrong crowd.
Dreams of the NFL began to swirl in LaVonta’s mind when his Arlington Middle School football team won the 8th grade championships. That winning feeling has never left LaVonta. High school football involved moving schools from Parker High School to Jackson Olin (JO) High School. LaVonta and his family moved back to where his roots were, to the same high school, in fact, that his grandma attended. During his time at JO LaVonta sharpened his skills as a linebacker, a position he loves because of its physicality and, of course, because he “likes to hit”!
LaVonta’s high school career launched him onto the collegiate stage and changed his life for good. Visiting colleges opened the world to LaVonta who had never left Birmingham before. He knew the opportunity to play college football would be the turning point in his life. LaVonta spent 4 incredible years at Clemson University. The family vibe of the coaches, the frequent check-ins, and guidance of the coaching staff put his, and his mom’s, mind at ease. He knew that Clemson was where he was meant to be.
They say that when one door closes, another one opens. For LaVonta, that door was opened by Coach Prime. With just two years of eligibility left, LaVonta knew that a move to CU, would mean the coaching and exposure he needed to take a shot at the big time, the NFL. One visit to Boulder told LaVonta all he needed to know about the winning mindset of the CU program. LaVonta describes his first impressions of Colorado and seeing the mountains for the first time as “feeling like he was in a movie”. “All the land and all the green was unreal,” he recalls. LaVonta was lucky enough to have an old teammate from home to connect with at CU, Jamar Montgomery. He helped LaVonta to settle into life in Colorado and at CU.
When asked how he handles the media and attention that is currently swirling around the CU football program, LaVonta humbly answers, “I can just be me, do the work and go out and ball. I want to show the world what I can do.” There is not a doubt that the world will know LaVonta Bentley’s name. While LaVonta puts in the work everyday on the field, he is also expanding his brand and influence off the field. He has created a clothing line of his TTP (Trust the Process) brand. When you “trust the process” you believe in yourself, in your abilities, and believe in the path that you create. According to LaVonta, “Everything you do, it’s a process. You just have to trust in God and believe. We all have trials and tribulations and everyone has their own process, their own way.”
Check out LaVonta on the football field and his clothing line at https://ttp.store
