PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. — Ben Boulware received the scholarship offer he had been waiting for — an offer he didn’t think would come — from Clemson on March 10, 2012.

When he received it, though, he was more irritated than ecstatic — at least initially.

“I was kind of mad it took that long,” Boulware recalled during a press conference on Tuesday at the Camelback Inn and Spa Resort in Paradise City, Ariz.

The Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna linebacker landed his first offers from Stanford and UCLA, respectively. Then, schools such as Georgia, Duke and Ole Miss followed.

As Boulware racked up tackles, he attracted interest from all over the country. But Clemson, located about 30 minutes from Boulware’s hometown, was one of the last schools to pull the trigger.

“I was thinking about Georgia until Clemson offered me,” Boulware said. “I didn’t think they were going to because they were so late. It kind of pissed me off. So, I definitely weighed my other options.”

Despite totaling over 300 tackles during his sophomore and junior seasons, Boulware wasn’t a target of Clemson under former defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.

That changed quickly once Brent Venables took over as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in 2012. After watching Boulware on film, Venables instantly became intrigued.

“After about the 18th tackle in the first half against Easley, I paused the tape and said, ‘Boys, what do we not like about this guy?’” Venables said on Tuesday. “So then heard he’s not real big. He didn’t walk in there looking like Stephone Anthony, but we got him over there, and I think he’s shown he’s big enough.”

So, Venables extended the offer in March. But Boulware would have liked the offer to come much earlier.

“I’m pretty sure I was the first guy he offered when he got here, so I was super appreciative of that,” Boulware said. “But obviously being me, I’m like you should have offered me freshman year. Why did it take until junior year of high school to do that? So, it obviously kind of annoyed me a little bit, but here we are.”

Boulware’s hard feelings toward Clemson dissipated soon after the offer, however. 18 days later, he committed to Clemson.

And four years later, it has all worked out for Boulware. The senior has accumulated 335 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, five interceptions, 39 quarterback pressures, nine pass breakups, six forced fumbles and four fumbles recoveries in his career. He has 16 career double-figure tackle games, in which Clemson is 15-1.

Boulware, who was named a first-team All-ACC performer this season for the second year in a row, said the late offer from Clemson served as motivation.

“It kind of made me who I am today,” Boulware said. “It left that chip on my shoulder that they were one of the last schools to offer me a scholarship, being 20 minutes down the road.”

Boulware is over the offer situation, though. His only focus now is helping Clemson beat Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m not trying to focus on that or worry about that,” he said.