Gamecocks offer ‘came out of nowhere’ for Arizona QB

USC has offers out to quarterbacks near and far in the 2018 class and the latest one to impress the Gamecocks was Tyler Shough (6-foot-5, 195 pounds) of Chandler, Az, a suburb of Phoenix and adjacent to Tempe, the home of Arizona State.

Shough last season passed for 2,079 yards and 27 touchdowns. The Gamecocks were the first big time program to offer Shough (pronounced SHUCK) and later on Wednesday, Indiana became the second. he also has offers from Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Cornell, San Jose State, Hawaii and Western Kentucky.

"I was super excited and shocked because it came out of nowhere," Shough said. "My interest level is high and I would love to go there. I love the location, coaches, and the football tradition. They said they loved my film and were looking for an athletic dude who can throw the ball. I'm excited to get to know them and visit."

Shough said he and his parents are working on a date to visit the Gamecocks. He has been to Arizona State and Nebraska and also plans to visit Harvard and Western Kentucky. He said he does not have a favorite at this point and he is not an early graduate.

Notes:

▪  South Carolina on Wednesday offered running back Lavonte Valentine (6-foot-0, 188 pounds) of Melbourne, Fla., and immediately moved to the top of his list joining Florida and Oregon.

"They love my speed,” Valentine said. “Speed kills. They said I will be able to run track and play football which is great. They are very excited about me. Best thing is most of my family is from South Carolina and lives in South Carolina. This is awesome."

Valentine has family in Columbia, Edgefield and Trenton. He said with the offer from USC his interest in the Gamecocks is "1-10, at least an 11." He plans to visit soon. He recently visited Florida. Valentine has run a 10.44 100 meters, third best in Florida this spring. He rushed for 890 yards last season.

▪  The Gamecocks offered defensive back Derek Turner (5-foot-11, 182 pounds) of Saint Francisville, La., on Wednesday. Auburn and Kansas State are two other Power 5 conference offers for him.

"I like the Gamecocks and I always liked Muschamp,” Turner said. “He said he loves my film and can't believe this big school close to me hasn't offered me. He likes that I'm versatile and physical."

Turner has visited LSU, Tulane and TCU and has visits upcoming with Auburn, Kansas State and Louisiana Tech. He said he will visit USC "sooner than later."

▪  DE Xavier Thomas of Florence and IMG Academy in Florida will be at USC on Thursday morning to watch the Gamecocks in their spring practice. Thomas also visited USC earlier this month on a bus trip with teammates and he plans to take in the Gamecock spring game April 1.

▪  Defensive lineman Dantrell Barkley of Independence Community College in Kansas has set an unofficial visit to USC for June 9. South Carolina coaches plan to visit him at Independence on April 18. He's also going to visit Colorado and N.C. State.

▪  Sharone Wright Jr., a 6-foot-4 point guard from West Florence, picked up an offer from Texas Tech. He also has Clemson and South Carolina offers.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 5:26 AM with the headline "Gamecocks offer ‘came out of nowhere’ for Arizona QB."