MarShawn Lloyd’s positive reaction when he found out he wouldn’t play in 2020
When South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Bobo heard about MarShawn Lloyd’s torn ACL, he was devastated. Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp called the freshman last week and started the conversation by saying he was so sorry.
And Lloyd, a player from Washington, D.C., who coaches have long praised for his mature outlook, gave a bit of a surprising reply.
“He said, ‘Coach, this was supposed to happen,’” Muschamp recalled Wednesday. “And God willing, this happened to me and I’m gonna handle it.’ And that’s just the type young man he is. He’s in a very good mental place right now.”
Muschamp had called after team surgeon Jeff Guy and trainer Clint Haggard both spoke to Lloyd and his family. After the conversation with the coach, Lloyd’s mother and grandmother came down to Columbia to figure out the next steps.
He tore the ligament in his left knee just making a cut in the flow of a routine practice play. No one fell on it or hit it. After it happened, Muschamp said Lloyd got up and didn’t seem to be worse for wear, leaving the field with the thought it might have just been hyper-extended.
“Genetically, he’s different from most human beings,” Muschamp said. “He jumped up and down a couple times and just was fine, didn’t think anything of it, jogged off the field.”
The only bright side was that there was no other knee damage beyond the ACL.
Lloyd got rave reviews throughout camp from teammates who praised his shiftiness and play-making ability. Without him, the ceiling for that running back group is lowered, and more falls on the shoulders of junior college tailback Zaquandre White.
Lloyd ran for more than 1,100 yards last year and was a top-50 national recruit, the best offensive recruit of the Muschamp era and the program’s highest-rated tailback recruit since Marcus Lattimore.
If all goes to plan, he’ll be back next year, ready to go. For now, he’ll rely on the help he’ll get around the program and from family to see him through.
“He’s got a great support group at home,” Muschamp said. “His best football is ahead of him, I can assure you that.”
