Second-year wide receiver leaves Gamecocks football team
Wide receiver Tyquan Johnson was supposed to add a speed element and deep threat to South Carolina’s football team.
On Wednesday, the school announced he had left the program ahead of the 2020 season.
Johnson didn’t play in a game last season, his first on campus. He was supposed to be part of the 2018 recruiting class, but didn’t make it because of academics and spent a year in prep school.
“Tyquan and I got together and we both felt like it was in his best interest to get a fresh start,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said in a statement from the school.
In his one season in prep school, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder had 12 catches, 157 yards and two touchdowns for a 9-0 team at Fork Union, working in a loaded receiving group.
In high school, Johnson was a deep threat for a series of successful option teams in Georgia. As a high school senior, he caught 32 passes for 661 yards and 10 scores. Nearly two in five of his 94 career high school catches went for touchdowns. He was ranked the No. 641 player in his class by the 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 100 receiver.
“He’s a guy we’re really excited about two years ago,” Muschamp said at SEC Media Days last year. “We had him in camp. He earned his scholarship when he came in. He’s a big guy that runs extremely well on the top end. He can stick his foot in the ground. He caught the ball well. So we’ll see where he is.”
The Gamecocks also added walk-on long snapper Carson Galloway, who played for Wren High School last season. He made 136 tackles with sacks last year as a linebacker for a state champion team. He will wear number 49.
Practice notes
▪ In a quote provied by the school, Muschamp said he was pleased with how the offense fared Wednesday in man coverage situations in certain practice periods. The Gamecocks need their receivers to step up, and based on preseason information it was believed the defensive backs were ahead of their offensive counterparts.
▪ The Carolina Calls radio show will move from its longtime home of the Wild Wing Cafe in The Vista to Backstreets Grill, located at 2400 Devine St. The first show is 7-8 p.m. Aug. 27.
▪ The Gamecocks will lift weights and watch film Thursday, then practice in shells Friday and Saturday before a day off Sunday. No practice is open to the public or media because of COVID-19 concerns. USC coordinators Mike Bobo and Travis Robinson, along with select Gamecocks players, will talk with reporters virtually Thursday.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 1:21 PM.
