Speedy Valentine sprints to be next 2-sport standout at USC

Lavonte Valentine has two gears: fast and faster.

Valentine, who committed to Will Muschamp and the Gamecocks on July 4, has his sights set on putting that speed to work in two sports when he joins South Carolina: football and track.

“I’ve been doing it since the ninth grade,” he said. “It’s not really hard.”

The 6-foot, 190-pound Valentine wants to run the 100 meter, 200 meter and relay events in college. He has the blessing of Muschamp and running backs coach Bobby Bentley, but he knows football comes first.

It’s the relationship with both coaches and their low-pressure (oftentimes no-pressure) approach to recruiting him that paid off for the Gamecocks.

“Coach Muschamp, I spoke to him every day from day one since he’s been recruiting me and not one time has he told me, ‘I need you to commit now or hurry up and commit,’ ” Valentine said. “Even when I went to visit other schools, he never gave me the cold shoulder. He let me choose on my own.”

Valentine is coveted in both sports for a primary attribute.

“I’m known for speed,” he said.

He has a personal-best 4.3 second 40-yard dash; 10.4 in the 100 meter and 21.5 in the 200 meter. He won a state championship this spring with a 10.61 in the 100 meter while running for East Ridge High (Clermont, Fla.).

On the football field for Melbourne Central Catholic High in 2016, he ran for 884 yards (9.6 per carry) with 175 receiving (29.2 per catch) and 14 total touchdowns in his first full season of varsity football.

His breakout season led to 15 offers in the spring, including the Gamecocks, Oregon, Southern Cal, Florida and LSU.

“There were like 10 offers in two weeks,” Valentine recalled, “going from none to all these big schools and the SEC wanting you to come to your school.”

The three-star prospect is the nation’s 12th best all-purpose back in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite rating that factors in all networks.

Valentine was born in Florida but has family in Columbia and across the Palmetto State. His father, Leonard Valentine, lives in Edgefield.

While track has been part of his life since the ninth grade, he started with football at the age of 4. And he’s always been a running back.

Valentine credits his father with fostering his love of football, albeit in a unique way.

“ ‘When you were 4 years old, you never liked football,’ ” he recalled his dad telling him. “ ‘I would have to come get you out of the park while our team was playing.’ He would say, ‘Score a touchdown and you can go back to the park,’ so I would score a touchdown and run back over there.”

Wide receiver Damiere Byrd, now with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, also ran track during his time as a Gamecock.

Long term, Valentine can see himself playing either sport professionally.

“I know the time is going to come when I’ll have to pick one,” he said. “If I had to pick, I would choose football.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Speedy Valentine sprints to be next 2-sport standout at USC."