What MarShawn Lloyd did in practice that had Luke Doty, Gamecocks ‘fired up’

South Carolina football fans likely won’t get to see star running back MarShawn Lloyd on the field this weekend for the Garnet and Black spring game. He has already said he’s taking it slow this spring as he progresses back from a torn ACL that derailed what was expected to be a standout freshman campaign.

Even though the former four-star recruit and and highly-regarded prospect hasn’t been able to do too much on the field this spring beyond rehabilitation, he has come back enough to flash some of the high-level athleticism that had those around the program anticipating what he could do heading into last season.

“He did a friggin’ backflip the other day whenever we were warming up in the indoor, and I think that that was probably the most excited I’ve gotten in a while,” sophomore quarterback Luke Doty said Monday. “Just to see him do that and just how fired up he was to do that. I think that was definitely a step forward for him, and you can see him, just in the way that he does everything, the confidence that he’s getting, the confidence that’s coming back, and just just his intent in every single thing he does. You can definitely tell he’s ready to get back out there, and we’re definitely ready to have him back.”

Lloyd’s love of backflips isn’t new — back in January 2020, the Gamecocks’ official Twitter account posted a video of him shortly after he arrived on campus, performing flips at his new home.

Getting back to that level of explosiveness marks yet another milestone in Lloyd’s recovery. He’s progressed to the point where he can participate in some workouts and drills, even if he won’t be a full go until June or so, he has said.

But even though he hasn’t been able to do much in spring practice, he has still impressed his teammates and coaches with his work ethic and dedication. In the portions of practice media have been allowed to view this spring, Lloyd has typically been at the front of the group during stretches, helping to lead alongside Doty and the other QBs, before heading indoors for more rehab work.

“He’s fired up, I can tell you that much. And just seeing how far he’s come since that injury first happened — I was in the training room this morning getting taped, and he was already in there halfway done with his rehab,” Doty said Monday. “And you can see him whenever he’s working out, whenever he’s doing his rehab and even the periods that he gets to do in practice, you can definitely tell that there’s a fire inside of him, and that’s definitely not going out any time soon.”