USC adds more talent to RB room with South Carolina transfer MarShawn Lloyd
The full scope of USC's running back unit for 2023 won't be clear until all the dust settles on transfer portal season, but the Trojans felt the need to add some experienced help at the position and landed South Carolina transfer MarShawn Lloyd on Friday.
Lloyd, who is listed at 5-foot-9, 212 pounds, rushed for 573 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and 9 touchdowns this past season while also catching 18 passes for 176 yards and 2 scores.
Most of his 2022 production came in a four-game stretch in the middle of the season as he reeled off 15 carries for 169 yards and 3 TDs vs. Charlotte, 11 carries for 80 yards and a TD (plus a receiving TD) vs. South Carolina State, 22 carries for 110 yards and a TD vs. Kentucky and 18 carries for 92 yards and 2 TDs vs. Texas A&M.
Lloyd was a five-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting class out of DeMatha High School in the Washington, D.C., area. He was ranked the No. 4 RB and No. 33 overall national prospect in that class.
As for USC's running back depth chart, the Trojans are losing star Travis Dye, who is out of eligibility. Austin Jones (705 rushing yards and 5 TDs, 267 yards receiving and 1 TD), who took over as the Trojans' starter down the stretch following Dye's season-ending injury, announced Friday that he is returning for his final season with the program.
Then there is rising sophomore Raleek Brown, another former five-star prospect, who got 42 carries for 227 yards and 3 TDs and caught 16 passes for 175 yards and 3 TDs as a true freshman; veteran Darwin Barlow, who saw just 16 carries this season; and incoming four-star freshmen Quinten Joyner and A'Marion Peterson, who both put up prodigious stats at their Texas high schools.
Lloyd is USC's eighth transfer addition so far this offseason with more expected.
He joins the list with punter Eddie Czaplicki (Arizona State), outside linebacker Jamil Muhammad (Georgia State), defensive tackle Kyon Barrs (Arizona), wide receiver Dorian Singer (Arizona), cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace (Arizona) and inside linebacker Mason Cobb (Oklahoma State) and offensive tackle Michael Tarquin (Florida).