A story that showed Will Muschamp the depth of MarShawn Lloyd’s competitive fire
South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp had only had a few months on campus with MarShawn Lloyd.
But he’s getting a sense of the fire that drives the young Gamecock.
He related a story about the blue-chip early enrollee during a radio interview Tuesday with SportsTalkSC. It was about the talented running back’s work off the field.
“Put it this way, he made a 3.6 GPA his spring semester,” Muschamp said. “I called him to congratulate him and his mom. And he corrected me on the phone and said, ‘Coach, it’s a 4.0. The teacher made a mistake.’ He was like mad. He was mad at me for what I said.”
Lloyd attended a prestigious academic school — DeMatha Catholic High School in Washington, D.C. — leaving it after football season so he could enroll at USC early. (DeMatha doesn’t allow early graduations.)
He was the No. 42 recruit in the final 247Sports Composite rankings. Rivals rated him as a five star.
Once he arrived on campus, he quickly inserted himself into the conversation for the vacant starting running back position.
“He’s about as competitive a young man as I’ve been around,” Muschamp said. “I mean that in a very positive way.”
The coach mentioned Lloyd will be battling the likes of Kevin Harris, Deshaun Fenwick and Rashad Amos in a backfield that turned over its top three rushers and another veteran player.
The 5-foot-9, 211-pounder ran for 1,197 yards last season, getting a top-10 play on SportsCenter. He’ll have the chance to compete for that starting job whenever the team can reconvene, perhaps within the next month.
He’ll have the skill, and the approach, to stay in that mix.
“He’s a very talented guy,” Muschamp said. “In my opinion, he’s the first one in the meeting room. Coach Bentley at the time and now Des Kitchings talks in terms of, he’s always got questions. He’s always asking the right kind of questions. God’s blessed him with a lot of abilities. Got lateral change of direction. He’s got vertical. He’s got good vision.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 5:22 AM.
