USC coach Will Muschamp set out this recruiting season to upgrade his team’s running back talent, and he got that done on Monday when MarShawn Lloyd (5-10 210) of released a video on Twitter announcing a commitment to the Gamecocks. Lloyd is a native of Delaware but he attends Dematha Catholic in Hyattsville, MD.

Lloyd visited USC in February and in April, and running backs coach Thomas Brown kept the Gamecocks in a strong position with him, but the choice of the Gamecocks and the timing of the announcement were not expected by the recruiting world because Lloyd has had little to say about his recruiting.

The Gamecocks beat the likes of Georgia, Maryland, Penn State and Ohio State for Lloyd. He also had offers from Clemson, Florida, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Southern Cal.

“It was definitely different,” Lloyd said of USC following his April visit. “I really interacted with the players, and it was very different and I liked it. I felt like I fit in well. Their offensive line is amazing. The running backs fit me as well. It’s a place where I can push myself and play probably early.”

Lloyd also liked the idea of playing his college football under Brown’s tutelage.

“Being able to have a coach like Thomas Brown, and my coach now, pretty much not really a difference,” he said. “That was a big up for them.”

Lloyd is the Gamecocks’ seventh commitment for the 2020 class and the first running back.

Here is Lloyd’s announcement video: