WS Chronicle

Another area player has his dream come true of playing on the next level. Glenn High School senior wide receiver, Markell Lloyd, recently signed his letter of intent to play football at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU).

Lloyd had interest from several other schools, but chose JCSU because he wanted a new environment and has already built a great rapport with the Golden Bulls coaching staff.

“It’s a new atmosphere and new environment and the coaches were very nice to talk to and I enjoyed cooperating with them during the process,” said Lloyd.

For this season, the recruiting process happened before the actual season due to the pandemic, so colleges only had tape from previous years to evaluate players. Players and coaches had to do everything virtually, so the recruiting experience for players was somewhat taken from them.

“It kind of messed up a lot,” said Lloyd about the pandemic. “Since the pandemic started, you couldn’t really go take a physical visit and you had to do everything online and later on some schools only allowed two or three kids on campus, so it kind of messed everything up.”

With the recruiting process out of the way, Lloyd is going into his last season at Glenn to have fun and enjoy the last few games he has with his teammates. “I just want to have fun and be with my team for one last ride,” he said.

Lloyd says he will have a mix of emotions when he steps on the field for his final game. He will be excited to have the chance to play college football; however, he will miss playing with his high school teammates.

“I am just going to treat it like it’s my first day out there and treat everything like it’s my last and give 110% effort,” he went on to say.

Lloyd started his prep career at Parkland High School, but chose to transfer to Glenn following his sophomore season. He feels that was the best decision he could have made because of the coaching he has received and the friendships he has made.

“It was the right move for me because I feel like Glenn is like home and they have put me in the right positions and has helped me a lot with my future,” he said about transferring. “I really want to thank Glenn for the opportunity and position they have put me in, so yeah, it was the best move for me.”

The coaching staff has had a tremendous impact on Lloyd. He says the staff has played a major role in him getting better on and off the field. Lloyd says the coaches influenced him to focus on his craft to put him in the position of getting a scholarship.

Lloyd is actually a multi-sport athlete. Not only does he love the game of football, but he is also a basketball player. He actually wanted to play basketball during his middle school years before his talent on the field began to really shine. He is leaving the door open to play basketball for the Golden Bulls if the opportunity presents itself.

“During middle school I wanted to strictly play basketball, but then I put pads on and kept playing the game of football and fell in love with contact sports and just learning more about football,” Lloyd continued. “I just began to develop a love for football over basketball now.”

Throughout the pandemic, Lloyd has been working out with teammates and trainers to stay in shape. It was unclear if there was going to be a season this year, but he wanted to be prepared for any scenario.  

Lloyd will be joined by East Forsyth cornerback, Jordan Timmons at JCSU next season. Lloyd and Timmons have been good friends for years and Lloyd says it will be good to have a familiar face with him in college.  

“I am excited to have him there, because he is like my little brother, so we do everything together,” Lloyd said about Timmons. “He is going to be my roommate, so we are very excited to get down there, but right now we are focused on our seasons. We (Glenn) play East (Forsyth) first, so we ain’t really communicated, because we are trying to get focused on our first game. After that, we are going to talk about college and all of the fun experiences we are going to have.”

Lloyd said he knows he has to stay focused for everything on and off the field. He says the classroom is the priority above all else. He has not decided on a major, but is interested in biology, business administration or sports entertainment.

Lloyd’s mother, Rasheeda Lloyd, says she was happy that he selected Johnson C. Smith and she primarily left her input out of the decision, because she wanted him to make his own choice of school.

“I left that up to Markell, because he will be the one attending the school,” she said about her son’s choice. “I am happy he did decide on an HBCU and it’s not too far.”

Rasheeda Lloyd stated it is an emotional time for her. She thinks about her son transitioning to manhood often and being on his own in college, but is confident he will be able to handle it.

“I can’t hold his hand forever,” she said jokingly. “I think as a mom I did my part and I’m constantly telling him to make good decisions and stay around people that are focused on the right things. He just has to keep praying and he’ll find his way.”

Ms. Lloyd says she doesn’t want to talk about the day she has to drop her son off at college. She said she thinks about it every day and knows that he isn’t too far away in Charlotte.

For Ms. Lloyd, she said the priority for her is to have Markell obtain his degree first and foremost. She says playing football is just a privilege.