COLUMBIA, S.C. — As South Carolina prepares to hit the road for Nashville, South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer gave one final pre-game injury report.
Speaking on his weekly radio call-in show, Beamer said MarShawn Lloyd is improving as he looks to recover from that deep thigh bruise which he suffered in the first half of the Missouri game.
Lloyd was clearly hampered by the injury and in the last few days, the coaches have been able to increase his work load.
““(He) has been able to do a little bit more each day this week,” Beamer said.
“We’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of days.”
Lloyd leads the team with 556 yards and nine touchdowns rushing. He and quarterback Spencer Rattler have been quite effective in the passing game with Lloyd recording 17 catches for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
With Lloyd limited in the second half against Missouri, Carolina could only muster a field goal in the 23-10 loss to the Tigers.
If Lloyd is limited or unable to go, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield hinted some current players who aren’t necessarily listed as a running back could see time in the backfield behind Rattler.
“We have a lot of guys that played running back in high school,” Satterfield said this week.
“It’s all hands on deck, whether it be quarterback runs, backup quarterbacks, quarterbacks that played in the bowl game, receivers that played running back, receivers that run kickoffs back 109 yards. Everyone is going to have a chance to see what they can do Saturday night with the ball.”
It would be a good bet Jaheim Bell would be in line for more than a few carries if that “all hands on deck” game plan is implemented along with Dakereon Joyner.
That could prompt Vanderbilt coaches to take a long look at the game video from the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.