The first time Arizona State offensive line coach Saga Tuitele laid eyes on Brandon Lloyd, even he was shocked. Tuitele was told in June that a "big track kid" wanted to try football for the first time.
"I had no idea who he was until he showed up," Tuitele said. "Everybody gives you height and weight numbers. Until you really see the kid ... I was like, 'Holy (expletive). That's a big dude.'"
Standing 6 feet 10 inches and weighing 370 pounds, Tuitele had every right to feel the way he did. Lloyd is almost larger than life with his towering presence. He's about three months into his football journey, which began in the summer.
That's because Lloyd is also one of the school's top track and field athletes. He made the podium at the Pac-12 Championships for both the discus and the shot put, qualified for the NCAA Championships in the shot put and finished third at the Jamaican National Championships in the event, missing out on a trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lloyd owns a personal best of 19.62 meters (64 feet, 3 inches) in the shot put.
Hailing from Clarendon, Jamaica, in the island's southern region, Lloyd had never played football. He wanted to try something new and see if he could work onto the field. At the moment, Lloyd is on the scout team as he learns the game.
Lloyd said understanding the playbook has been the hardest part of his transition from track and field to football.
But he's starting to get a grasp.
"He's conceptually putting it together," Tuitele said. "This is the concept of the play. 'This is what my job is.' He'll look around, 'Uh, which one was this again?'
"You take a guy who's never been a part of a flag football team, let alone a Power 4, Division I, elite-level team and to come in and learn an offense that's foreign to anybody, but especially him, he's picking it up to where he knows what to do, where to go. And there are some plays where it's like, 'Oh wow. He knows the technique now.' He's showing his development."
Tuitele has been impressed with Lloyd's progression, considering the circumstances. Lloyd went straight from trying to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics on the Jamaican national team to putting on a football helmet for the first time.
"It's a testament to him because it's hard to get up in the morning, especially if you don't know what the steps are to be a college football player," Tuitele said. "To come up there and do the work, and help out on defense, as well as develop, it just shows he wants to do well for himself and do well for his teammates."
One of the leaders for the Sun Devils is redshirt senior center Leif Fautanu, who was named ASU's offensive MVP last season and is one of the more experienced players in college football.
Fautanu entered 2024 with 2,657 snaps, the third-most for active players. He's seen a lot of football.
"I think he's done a really good job at accepting the role, taking in the information from everybody, being able to listen to all the dudes," Fautanu said. "It's a first time for him. You got to give him the benefit of the doubt; he doesn't know what he's doing.
"You got to take it from step one. And I think Brandon has taken tremendous strides from Week 1 to Week 9."
Lloyd won't see the field this season as he continues to dig his head into the playbook. But ASU can still use Lloyd's large frame to its benefit on the Bill Kajikawa Practice Fields.
It's not often, if ever, a defensive end will come across someone as tall as Lloyd. According to Pro Football Network, the second-tallest player in NFL history, Morris Stroud from the Kansas City Chiefs, was 6 feet 10, the same height as Lloyd.
"You can't teach that size," Tuitele said. "He can move his feet. He's got heavy hands. The physicality of getting a good look from him is unique because he imposes sheer size. ... Our guys love going up against him because they like the challenge, but it's also as realistic a look they're going to get."
What's it like going against Lloyd as a player?
"It's a little intimidating just seeing someone so big," junior defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika said. "When he jumps down on me, (it's) really heavy. It's hard. It helps us, having someone bigger than you would see, heavier than what you would normally play against. It helps us get more push and more moves to try to get around him.
"Don't try to run through him. It's not gonna work."
Track and field is essentially an individual sport. There are teams, but the focus is on the individual. Throwing is especially solitary. Lloyd spends most of his time working alone with his coaches, separated from most of the team.
Football is the opposite.
Lloyd is never alone, and is part of a 119-player roster.
"These guys are good," he said. "Everyone treats me like family. They welcomed me when I just started without knowing me at all. That gave me a drive to go every day and push harder and harder."
At a recent practice during this off week, Lloyd was the center of redshirt senior defensive end Prince Dorbah's attention - for good reason. Dorbah was acting as a hype man for Lloyd during one-on-one drills. Lloyd was putting together a good series of reps when Dorbah yelled, "He should be illegal!" referring to Lloyd's size.
Lloyd, a senior, has one year of football eligibility left after this season. While he has big goals for the track and field season -- including setting his sights on winning an NCAA title -- he wants to return for football.
"I'm gonna rough it out, but next year: beast mode," Lloyd said.
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.