MarShawn Lloyd breaks down transfer to USC, talks interest from Big Ten and SEC teams

Former South Carolina Gamecocks running back MarShawn Lloyd joined the USC Trojans via the NCAA Transfer Portal earlier in the offseason, and he’s ready to make an impact. 

From the get-go, it was the Trojans who tickled Lloyd’s fancy as a potential program he was looking to transfer to. It all worked out, as Lloyd provided some context as to how it all went down.

“As soon as I went in the portal,” Lloyd responded, asked how soon USC was on his radar after the running back decided to take his talents elsewhere. “I’ve talked to Caleb [Williams] before about possibly being able to be a teammate, and you know, once I jumped in the portal, they were right there.”

However, USC was far from the only program to reach out to the former Gamecocks running back, as he had immense interest from some prominent SEC and Big Ten programs.

“I did not,” Lloyd added, asked if it was always going to be USC once the Trojans reached out. “Honestly, the first team that got to me, once I went in the portal, the first team that got to me was Tennessee. I was looking at Tennessee, where else — you know, Michigan State, Michigan. It was so fast, how teams got to me. I just weighed out my options.

“I knew that this school has a really good offense and a really good coach. You know, athletes in certain positions to be able to play. I just felt like this offense is unique in every way. A lot of people, when they look at the Trojans, they think of them being like, a pass first team, but if you look at the numbers, the running back is getting like 20 carries a game as well. So I just like the way that they just execute, you know at all levels. Execute passing the ball, offensive line blocking. I just felt like it was a great fit to you know, add to the great running backs here already. I just felt it would be the best for me to be able to compete, have fun and win a national championship.”

In the end, USC had something nobody else could compete with in reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams, and when a text was sent from the quarterback to Lloyd, that was that.

“Honestly, Caleb told me, he said let’s — he texted me, he said, ‘Come here now. Let’s go to the league,’ — he said, ‘Let’s win a national championship. Let’s go to the league.’ I was like, ‘Let’s go. I’m all for it.’ It was just a great conversation,” revealed the freshly-minted USC running back.

Now, Marshawn Lloyd is ready to rock at USC. Time will tell if he can help bring a title back to the Trojans, but fun times are ahead nonetheless for the running back.