Shane Beamer assesses the performance of MarShawn Lloyd this spring

For the first time since he took over in 2021, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has a healthy MarShawn Lloyd. After arriving on campus in 2020, Lloyd suffered an ACL injury in fall camp and missed his entire true freshman season.

That injury extended into Beamer’s inaugural season, and though Lloyd was healthy enough to play Beamer said he wasn’t at full strength. He still managed to finish third on the team in rushing with 228 yards and a touchdown on 64 carries. With top two leading rushers Kevin Harris and Zaquandre White now gone to the NFL, Lloyd could be in for an even bigger role in 2022.

“Really fired up about him and the spring that he’s had,” Beamer said Saturday after the spring game. “Obviously (he was) highly recruited coming out of high school and in 2020 he gets injured. He may tell you that he was healthy and 100% last year, but I don’t think so. He never looked 100% MarShawn. But this spring he’s been on a mission and very purposeful about the way that he’s worked since he came back in January.”

Lloyd was the No. 6 running back and No. 44 overall recruit in the class of 2020 according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He boasted offers from big-time programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and many more.

In the spring game Saturday, MarShawn Lloyd got the opportunity to prove himself both to Shane Beamer and the more than 20,000 fans in attendance. He finished as the leading rusher for the Black team with 40 yards on eight carries. Only Juju McDowell finished the game with more rushing yards, as he had 57 yards on six carries for the Garnett squad.

Lloyd will also have competition in the backfield from Wake Forest transfer Christian Beal-Smith, who ranks as the No. 59 running back according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. Right now it seems as if South Carolina is leaning toward using several running back, but Beamer is clear that Lloyd will definitely be one of them.

“I think he looks faster, he looks more explosive,” the coach said. “We’re continuing to emphasize to him what a load he is and how hard he is to tackle. Continuing to get North-South and run through people as well. He’s worked on his route running, he’s worked on his pass catching. I thought he’s had a really good spring and he was out there tonight. The way we broke up the teams, he was out there with that second team offense line, but he never complained. He went out there and just ran the football. That was good to see.”

With spring ball now coming to a close, the Gamecocks won’t be back in action until fall camp. After that, they’ll open up the 2022 season with a matchup against Georgia State on Sept. 3.