Countdown to 2019 IUFB Kickoff: 37 Days (Ahrod Lloyd)

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Written by Amanda Pavelka

COUNTDOWN TO IUFB KICKOFF: #37 AHROD LLOYD

Height: 5’11’’

Weight: 197 pounds

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana (Park Tudor)

Class: Redshirt Sophomore

Position: Running back

Only five more Indiana football-less Saturdays until the season kicks off against the Ball State Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in a noon matchup. August 31st is the long-awaited day and only 37 days remain. With that being said, It’s only fitting to talk about the running back who will wear Indiana’s No. 37 jersey— none other than Ahrod Lloyd.

Being born and raised in Indianapolis, Ahrod Lloyd knows what it means to play for the Indiana Hoosiers. The young running back left his mark at Park Tudor High School as a record-breaker for both yards in a game (309) and yards in a season (1689). As a walk-on who joined the program during the 2017 season Lloyd’s was eager to contribute to the team. By the end of his redshirt freshman season, Lloyd was a four-time scout team player of the week for his efforts in preparing Indiana to face Penn State, Maryland, Rutgers, and Purdue.

As a freshman Lloyd played in nine games on special teams, starting with his debut against Ball State. Lloyd’s first statistic as a Hoosier was a 22-yard kick return against Maryland. Coach Allen recalled the play after their win over Maryland: “Here’s what we did, I put him back there and said, let’s give this kid a chance. And he took the ball and just went right at him. He just got vertical right away and that’s the key to a great kickoff return guy. So he doesn’t have any fear in him…. We just felt like we needed some juice back there and he got us to the— beyond 40 both times. So that’s big. That’s a first down or two, each time he touched the ball. So we are just trying to get our playmakers the ball.”

With star sophomore Stevie Scott returning as starting running back, Sampson James, Ronnie Walker, and Kristian Pechac join Lloyd at the stacked RB position. Lloyd is a hard-working walk-on that should see some minutes his sophomore season. He will have a chance to prove himself early-on against Ball State and Eastern Illinois at the very least.