Gaither rising senior quarterback Alex McGough has orally committed to Florida International, making him the first of the bay area’s top signal-callers to choose a school.
“Officially a FIU panther!!!,” McGough said via his Twitter account Sunday night.
The 6-foot-3 McGough held one other offer, from Colgate. But he generated more interest during the spring evaluation period, including strong performances with Team Tampa 2 – a local 7-on-7 team – and going 8-of-10 for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the spring jamboree against Steinbrenner.
As a junior, McGough completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,727 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He led the Cowboys to an 8-3 record and a share of the District 7A-7 championship.
He will be at the center of a rebuilding effort in the fall, with Gaither trying to find replacements for 23 seniors – about a dozen of them starters. The Cowboys were hit especially hard on offense, with McGough’s the team’s leading returning rusher (236 yards) and no receiver coming back who had more than six receptions.
McGough has started on varsity for all three seasons, including as a freshman at Wesley Chapel.
Joel Anderson can be reached at janderson@tampabay.com or on Twitter @jdhometeam.