MarShawn Lloyd: 'This is the MarShawn before the knee injury'
MarShawn Lloyd and his girlfriend sat at South Carolina’s operations building the day before players reported for the start of practice.
The two spent time together, cleaning out Lloyd’s locker in preparations for the start of a new season.
In the process, Lloyd found the wealth of braces he used last year to protect his knee still recovering from an ACL tear and had a thought.
Why are these even in my locker?
So the Gamecocks’ running back didn’t hesitate, taking them home and shoving the braces into the back of his closets as relics of a bygone chapter in his life.
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“This is the MarShawn before the knee injury. It’s crazy. I’m all about manifestation. There are so many things in my life that happened for a reason,” he told GamecockCentral. “I know so many people are telling me it’s my time. But I know. It’s time.”
Two years ago at this time it was MarShawn Lloyd poised for a breakout season. He was two practices into preseason camp and was the talk of the team before tearing his ACL.
After sitting out the 2020 season, he never got back to what he was in 2021. The man who used to be first in and last out as a freshman struggled to maintain the same level of routine.
While physically healthy, his mental side never fully allowed him to play confidently. He rushed just 64 times for 228 yards and a touchdown, not living up to the high expectations he sets for himself.
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“I wasn’t confident. Everything in this sport comes with confidence and I wasn’t as confident. I felt like I wasn’t fully there,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting myself to compete like I wanted to. I’m 100 percent. My confidence is there, finally.”
It wasn’t until the week of South Carolina’s bowl game that he started to turn a corner, literally. While he didn’t play against North Carolina, in the bowl practices he made a few cuts and felt fully back.
During that week, one thought popped into his head: “OK, it’s time.”
And South Carolina will certainly take the freshman-level Lloyd this season.
The Gamecocks lose their top two rushers from last year and Lloyd—fully healthy—seems primed to take the mantle as the team’s No. 1 back.
His goal isn’t to be the Gamecocks’ workhorse this year, though. He just wants to be available.
“I didn’t have too many injuries last year, but I wasn’t available in every way possible. I just want to be available,” he said. “Obviously you have to have one back and that would be awesome. My goal is to go out there and compete. “
Time will tell what Lloyd’s role looks like in 2022 but he’s ready to see the offense compete like he knows it can.
“I heard a lot about what this offense can do and saw a lot in the spring,” he said. “But finally this fall with all the extra pieces we were missing coming in it will be a special year for the whole team. I feel like everything is falling into place. This is why I came to this school. I feel like we can compete at a high level.”