Healthy again, South Carolina's Lattimore more than ready for return

[FeatheredCock]

Columbia, S.C. -- The hardest part, said Marcus Lattimore, was the waiting.

"I had to wait to run," said the South Carolina running back. "Then I had to wait to cut and then wait to spin. I knew I could do it but I had to wait. It was so hard."

Lattimore had never had to wait before. Since the day he arrived on the South Carolina campus as one of the most highly-recruited running backs in America, Marcus Lattimore had gone nothing but full speed.

In just his second college football game against Georgia in 2010, Lattimore carried the ball 37 times for 182 yards in a 17-6 win over the Bulldogs in Columbia. From that moment on Steve Spurrier, the Ol' Ball Coach, knew that the days of his Fun n' Gun offense were over. He had found a thoroughbred and was going to ride him. In that season Spurrier rode Lattimore all the way to South Carolina's first-ever SEC Championship Game. Lattimore finished 2010 with 1,197 yards, the best season ever recorded by a South Carolina running back not named George Rogers. (more)

 

[FeatheredCock]

Marcus is so impressive as a person...

He's totally on board with the "running attack by committee" mentality instead of the much more typical "me first" mindset that you see from almost all of the other running backs in college and pro ranks.

I firmly believe that he understands that if football were not to work out, he could make a nice living working with kids in allied health or some other aspect and he would love it. He wouldn't make the same money, but he'd have just as much (if not more) impact.

There is no question that ML was the key to getting HBC to reinvest his time, energy and emotions into the South Carolina program instead of bailing on us (and he was close to bailing). It isn't that Marcus is that good (although he is), it's that Marcus is the kind of person we would all like to be, and he spreads positive energy like nothing I have ever seen.

Truly selfless leaders are so rare these days. Marcus is the exception.