South Carolina football: MarShawn Lloyd ranked by Fox Sports as top impact freshman

The Fox Sports college football team revealed their top impact freshmen going into the 2020 season, and one South Carolina football player received recognition.

Members of Fox Sports’ college football team recently revealed their picks for this year’s top impact freshmen ahead of the 2020 season. Analysts include Urban Meyer, Joel Klatt, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, and Rob Stone.

Meyer and Bush ranked South Carolina running back MarShawn Lloyd inside their top five. Both analysts placed the rookie at No. 3 on their respective lists, quite the honor coming from one of college football’s winningest coaches and a Heisman trophy winning rusher. Other popular picks from the list include Clemson defensive lineman Bryan Bresee, TCU tailback Zach Evans, Ohio State receiver Julian Fleming, LSU tight end Arik Gilbert, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, and Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe.

Though he’s yet to take a snap at the collegiate level, the expectation around the South Carolina program is that Lloyd will be heavily involved in the Gamecock running back rotation next season. He’s already garnered high praise from head coach Will Muschamp and his new offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo.

He also enters a tailback room that’s losing three key seniors, and has just two players with game experience returning in 2020. Those players, Deshaun Fenwick and Kevin Harris, are both sophomores, and have combined for a total of just 64 carries, 405 yards, and five touchdowns. The opportunity for early playing time will certainly be available.

A member of the Gamecocks’ 2020 recruiting class, Lloyd was considered a five-star product and the nation’s fourth-best running back coming out of Dematha Catholic High School. He was rated as the 33rd best player in the country regardless of position. The 5’9″ runner went viral with this Sportscenter top 10 highlight during his senior year.

Lloyd chose the University of South Carolina over offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Maryland, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Texas, USC, Wisconsin, and a host of other top programs.

Lloyd is the program’s highest rated running back commit since Marcus Lattimore back in 2010, and fans and coaches alike are hoping he’ll have the same immediate impact.