Devin Lloyd on growing up in the Navy to being named the Panthers’ Salute to Service nominee

Lloyd was a teenager before football entered his life. By then, he’d learned to live each day with a regimented approach that relied on self-sufficiency and discipline while his parents were deployed.

So, unsurprisingly, he was able to adapt quickly, marrying that maturity with the kind of instincts that would turn him into a Pro Bowl linebacker. He’d go on to become a star at Utah and a first-round pick in 2022 by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While there on the Florida coast, near one of the bigger Naval bases in the country, he got to combine his new life with the one that laid a foundation for so much of who he is, giving back to those serving in the military both in Jacksonville, back home in San Diego, and beyond, starting with football camps for the kids of military parents.

“I think that’s cool for them just to see an NFL player that’s obviously kind of grew up in their shoes,” he said as to why it’s important.