Don’t expect USC to try something new at RB if MarShawn Lloyd can’t play
South Carolina’s top two tailbacks are banged up — but don’t expect too much shakeup in the backfield if they can’t go this weekend.
Head coach Shane Beamer told reporters on Sunday night that do-it-all tight end Jaheim Bell and sophomore tailback Juju McDowell should continue to shoulder the load at running back as MarShawn Lloyd and Christian Beal-Smith recover from injury.
Asked about the possibility of giving backup tailbacks Rashad Amos, Dante Miller and Lovasea Carroll a chance, Beamer said: “Those guys are quality running backs that continue to get better, but right now we feel like Juju and Jaheim give us the best chance to to win football games.”
The Bell experiment at running back has come with mixed results. The Gamecocks — determined to get the ball in their best pure playmaker’s hand — handed off to the Florida native 16 times for 56 yards in the win over Vanderbilt a week ago.
Saturday, Bell couldn’t muster much of anything against a Florida defense that had allowed 185.33 rush yards per game entering last weekend. He finished the night with 30 yards on 12 carries, while the Gamecocks combined for just 44 yards on 23 carries.
“Jaheim Bell is a hell of a running back,” Beamer said. “Is that his natural position necessarily? No, but watch the way Jaheim ran the ball last night. He really did some good things. Certainly some runs that he would like to have back, but he’s a weapon back there that we want to continue to involve.”
McDowell, too, has been effective in spurts, though his 5-foot-9, 177-pound frame limits how much of a bell-cow role he can take.
He finished his first year in Columbia third on the team in rushing with 248 yards on 52 carries, while adding another 53 yards on nine receptions. McDowell provided additional value as a kick returner, finishing third in the Southeastern Conference in kickoff returns fourth in kick return yards.
This fall, though, McDowell’s numbers have dipped some.
He’s already recorded more carries (53) than he did a year ago, but with less success (195 yards). That’s not all on McDowell, of course, but he’s largely remained a change-of-pace option.
“We didn’t control the line of scrimmage,” Beamer said of the Florida loss. “When you watch when we run the football, we’d love to see some knock-back and push up front. And we didn’t have that consistently enough last night as we have in other games.”
Beamer on Sunday said he’s optimistic Lloyd and Beal-Smith could return for this week’s game against No. 5 Tennessee. That’d be a welcome addition, and then some.
South Carolina has been at its best in 2022 when running the football effectively. The Gamecocks have averaged over 177 yards per game in contests they’ve won in 2022. That number drops to 52 yards per game in losses.
Tennessee enters the week after demolishing Missouri 66-24 in Knoxville and remains in the thick of the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth.
The South Carolina defense faces a stiff test in itself in trying to slow Heisman front-runner Hendon Hooker and ex-Dutch Fork receiver Jalin Hyatt.
That said, don’t expect the Gamecocks to make any distinct changes in the backfield as they try to keep pace with a Volunteers offense only No. 1 Georgia has remotely slowed.
This story was originally published November 13, 2022 at 8:25 PM with the headline "Don’t expect USC to try something new at RB if MarShawn Lloyd can’t play."
