Receiver Lloyd brings added character to offense
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Brandon Lloyd's days as a rebel go back to kindergarten, where he managed to get in trouble over the prerequisite question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
His classmates had given the expected answers -- firefighter, doctor, lawyer. But Lloyd's response of "I want to be a professional athlete" didn't please the teacher, who called his choice unrealistic.
Lloyd pushed back. "I'm like, 'No, that's what I want to be,"' he said. "So I got sent to the principal's office."
Unlikely as it might seem, that flash of discipline was a turning point in Lloyd's young life. The principal, Brad Barnhart, told the rambunctious 5-year-old it was OK to want to be an athlete and it was a goal that could be achieved.
Twenty years later, as a well-paid receiver for the Washington Redskins, Lloyd can't thank Barnhart enough.
"It was one of those things where he touched my life and let me go," Lloyd said. "He understood I meant good. My intentions were good. I was never a bad kid. I just had a lot of energy. I just needed to be guided in the right direction, and he did that."
Lloyd has brought hefty doses of both talent and character to the Redskins, who acquired him in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers in March. He and another newcomer, Antwaan Randle El, join Santana Moss to form a trio that is expected to pile up yards in new assistant coach Al Saunders' high-octane offense. On occasion, Lloyd resembled Plasticman at training camp, stretching his body to catch anything anywhere in his neighborhood.
And he's got quite the personality.
"He's turning into one of our locker room clowns," quarterback Mark Brunell said. "He's loud, he's fun, he's a great locker room guy. He's a great fit for us."
Lloyd talks the way he plays, excitedly moving from one topic to another at light speed. Trying to keep up with him in conversation is as tricky as trying to follow him running a pass route.
"Imagine being in a job, at work, you're sitting at your desk, and you're being recorded," Lloyd said. "You go to pick the pencil up, and, it's 'No, you didn't pick it up at 1:25.' 'Why are you writing on this side of the desk? You should be writing on this side.' Not only do they correct you, but then you sit down with your boss and then watch it -- and then he corrects you some more. Being in that mode, it's hard. It's hard to snap out of that mode. Luckily, my wife understands and loves me."
Lloyd is also a budding singer who has recorded a hip-hop demo, but he's also well-versed in everything from choir music to Willie Nelson. He had no choice but to listen to country music during long vacation drives through his native Missouri and Arkansas, when he and his siblings were stuffed in the back seat of their parents' Omni. To this day, he has Nelson's music on his iPod.
"We got our butts kicked one game -- it was after the Redskins game last year -- I got on the bus and was listening to my music," Lloyd said. "And (49ers vice president of player personnel) Scot McCloughan turns around and says, 'Is that Willie Nelson you're listening to?"'
Indeed it was. "Hello Walls" was the song.
Lloyd is thrilled to be out of San Francisco, where his personality rubbed some veteran teammates the wrong way. The 49ers were losing and rebuilding, and, in Lloyd's words, "they just weren't feeling my style."
In Washington, he's in good company. As colorful as he is, Lloyd arguably ranks only third among nonconformists on coach Joe Gibbs' team. Chris
ey is angling for No. 1 with his wild hair and strange attire, and Clinton Portis is a perennial contender with his array of costumes and out-of-nowhere sayings.
"I just blend right in," Lloyd said. "I'm not like a sore thumb anymore. It's good. And I think the best part is coach Gibbs' attitude toward it. We play our best when we're acting like that, when
ey's wearing his funky socks and his hair's all over the place."
Gibbs has often said he has no trouble with flashy players or colorful characters -- as long as they don't incite the other team or embarrass the Redskins. Lloyd, so far, has been no trouble at all.
"Brandon's got a great outlook on life," Gibbs said. "He's got a big ol' smile on his face all the time."
