SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

When Lavonte Valentine transferred just a few days into fall camp, every walk-on's ears perked up the teeniest bit more.

They knew with Valentine leaving, that means one of them would likely get put on scholarship, it was just a matter of who and when.

Both of those questions got answered Tuesday night.

After the late-afternoon practice, Muschamp called the team together and awarded the vacant scholarship to Spencer Eason-Riddle.

“Spencer Eason-Riddle, where you at?" Muschamp told the team. "You’re not paying for school anymore, you’re on scholarship.”

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When Muschamp made the announcement, Eason-Riddle was mobbed by his teammates and broke the team down before heading into the new operations building.

Eason-Riddle has been a valuable member of the Gamecocks' team as a redshirt junior.

He walked on and immediately started making an impact in the community, earning multiple community service awards from the SEC while serving as the team's scout team linebacker, fullback and a vital special teams player.

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The Gamecocks start classes Thursday, something Eason-Riddle now doesn't have to pay for, and are 11 days away from their season opener Aug. 31 in Charlotte against UNC.