Here’s what Muschamp thinks about the Gamecocks’ running back recruiting efforts
The Southeastern Conference’s annual administrative meetings at a luxury beachfront hotel are usually the space for weighty questions on sometimes arcane issues, but South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp got an easy one on Tuesday as the meetings started.
“How do you feel about your running back recruiting,” a reporter asked.
“Is that a trick question or something?” Muschamp said as a smile crept across his face. “I feel very good about where we are.”
The reason, although Muschamp can’t talk about in specifics due to NCAA rule, is MarShawn Lloyd. The 5-foot-9, 206-pound running back from Dematha High School in Maryland made a verbal commitment Monday to the Gamecocks. If he follows through on that commitment by signing in December or February, he will be the most high-profile running back signee of Muschamp’s tenure and most highly ranked for USC since Marcus Lattimore.
Lloyd is rated a four-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite ranking and is considered a five-star by Rivals. His scholarship offers included Georgia, Clemson and Penn State. New running backs coach Thomas Brown recruited Lloyd for the Gamecocks.
“I remember Thomas when he was a running back at Tucker High School when I was recruiting Tucker High School,” Muschamp said. “He was a blue-collar, hard-nosed, work ethic guy, and I would say he’s the same as a football coach. He’s a hard-nosed football coach who works extremely hard, he’s extremely bright. He’s done a really good job for us.”
College coaches are not allowed to discuss prospects by name until they have signed with a school.
“I think when you have a guy back there that can consistently make a guy miss or run through contact (it helps),” Muschamp said. “In most situations, the defensive coordinator is going to have enough guys in the box to stop the run. You have to have that guy that can run through contact, that can hit the hole and run and turn a 4- to 6-yard gain into a 60-yard gain and we haven’t done that consistently enough at South Carolina in my three years.”
The Gamecocks have not had a running back rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Mike Davis in 2013, and they’ve only had two 1,000-yard rushers in the last 18 seasons. South Carolina has not finished higher than 12th in the SEC in rushing in Muschamp’s previous three seasons as head coach.
The Gamecocks will have a trio of senior running backs — Rico Dowdle, A.J. Turner and Mon Denson — but don’t have another scholarship running back on the roster with more than 21 career carries.
Preparing for a special running back makes life difficult on a defensive coordinator, said Muschamp, who made his name as a defensive coordinator.
“It’s very difficult in a one-on-one situation because you know it’s not just about outnumbering someone in the box,” Muschamp said. “You have to be able to have multiple hats at the ball if you know there is a guy who can take it the distance on any play. It certainly changes the game, absolutely.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Here’s what Muschamp thinks about the Gamecocks’ running back recruiting efforts."
