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Marcus Lattimore
Photo courtesy of The University of South Carolina Sports Information Department
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Photo courtesy of The University of South Carolina Sports Information Department
Last October, it appeared everyone with a passing interest in sports was pulling for Marcus Lattimore. A gruesome knee injury had ended his junior season at the University of South Carolina and probably extinguished a bright professional career. What followed was an outpouring of support so vast that it became a story unto itself.
“It was truly amazing,” Lattimore says of the get-well cards and letters that came in by the bushel. “I can’t tell you how many I got. We quit counting when we got to 50,000. There were so many, Coach [Steve Spurrier] had to store some in his garage.”
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The response overwhelmed him, even though Lattimore lived life as one of the state’s highest-profile athletes. It began in 2009 when he was a senior at Byrnes High School, the powerhouse program in Duncan. Most observers called him the best running back in the country, making him the subject of an intense college recruiting battle. He capped his prep career in Myrtle Beach that December, receiving South Carolina’s Mr. Football award.
“Winning Mr. Football was definitely one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had,” he says. “It’s still something I think about even now.”
When it was time to choose a college, Lattimore says he picked South Carolina because it was close to home. An instant fan favorite, he was praised as “a highly hyped signee who lived up to the billing” by The Sporting News, which named Lattimore the 2010 National Freshman of the Year.
He started the 2011 season as one of the best-known players in college football, but a knee injury in game six knocked Lattimore out for the rest of the year. He rehabilitated the knee with a maniacal will, and his comeback was a national story when the 2012 season began.
A junior, Lattimore was expected to play the season and turn pro in 2013. The plan was on track until the devastating knee injury last October against Tennessee. He cried as he was carted off the field. A desolate crowd gave him a standing ovation. Many instantly speculated Lattimore would never play football again.
“As long as I was told I still had a chanceto play football, then I knew I’d be OK,” he says. “If I had a chance, I could take it from there.”
Lattimore attacked another rehabilitation regimen with conviction. Bolstered by the support of fans and eager to prove his career was not over, he clawed back to health in time to work out for pro scouts ahead of the NFL draft. Barely five months after his knee was mangled, Lattimore finished an exhaustive series of agility drills, and the scouts broke out in spontaneous applause.
Drafted by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and signed to a four-year deal, Lattimore remains on injured reserve but is looking forward to making his NFL playing debut in 2014.
“I still think I’m dreaming, to tell you the truth,” he says by phone from Santa Clara, Calif. “I love it out here. I’m just so blessed to be in this situation. The only downside is I have a long way to go for a home-cooked meal.”