Marcus
Lattimore, the University of South Carolina running back tore several ligaments
in his left knee Saturday vs. Tennessee after tearing the ACL in his right knee
last season.
Lattimore
was the 2009 South Carolina Mr. Football coming out of Byrnes High School in
Spartanburg, South Carolina.
As a
freshman, Lattimore was voted as the SEC Freshman of the year, the National
Freshman of the year, and was named to the All-SEC 1st team at
seasons end.
Last
season, as a sophomore, Lattimore was named to the All-SEC 2nd team
after missing about half of the season. Before Lattimore went down against Mississippi
State last year he was the nation’s leading rusher and seemed a clear cut
favorite for the Heisman trophy.
Lattimore
bounced back from his ACL tear to have a solid junior year where he broke
Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers’ school record for career rushing
touchdowns in an early season game vs. UAB. He later ran for over 100 yards and
scored 2 touchdowns while breaking 2 more school records in South Carolina’s 35-7
beat down of the possible 2012 SEC East Champions, the Georgia Bulldogs.
Because
of injuries, Marcus Lattimore may not statistically be South Carolina’s best
player ever, but he is certainly the most loved, most respected, and most
important in the Gamecocks history. With Lattimore in the backfield, South
Carolina has accomplished a number of firsts, including: beating the “Big 4”
all in one season, a season with the most wins in school history, and many,
many more, including winning the SEC East for the first time ever.
Marcus
Lattimore’s play put the Gamecocks on the national map, but it is his character
that separates him from other college football players. I know I have lived a
short life but in all my 21 years, I have never seen an opposing team act like
that after a player was injured. I have never heard the outcry from other teams
and other players, that weren’t even involved in the game, the way Georgia,
Florida, Auburn, LSU, and many others acted towards Marcus’ injury.
I have
had the pleasure, and it was truly a pleasure, to speak to Marcus Lattimore a
few times in my life. I was covering my first ever game last year vs. ECU, and
I was a nervous wreck at my first post-game press conference, but Marcus could
not have been nicer to me. From that point on, he became my favorite athlete,
and he will continue to be for the rest of my life.
There
many fans who love their favorite athlete because of statistical dominance on
the field, but when a fan loves their favorite athlete because of the person
they are under the helmet that is truly special.
He
may never play football again but he doesn’t need football. And although as
much as all of us want him to, we don’t need him to play football again, what
we need is for more people to be like Marcus Lattimore.
Just some
of the famous people that sent messages of support to Marcus Lattimore: the
Miami Heat’s LeBron James, New York Jets’ Tim Tebow, Washington Redskins’ RGIII,
NFL Hall of Famer & NFL Network’s Deion Sanders, Notre Dame LB Manti Te'o, Houston
Texans’ JJ Watt, ESPN’s Jay Bilas, Darius Rucker, Arizona Cardinals’ Patrick
Peterson, Carolina Panthers’ Jonathan Stewart, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, ESPN’s
Skip Bayless, Cincinnati Bengals’ AJ Green, New Orleans Saints’ Mark Ingram,
ESPN’s Lee Corso, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN’s Buster Olney, ESPN’s David
Pollack, LSU Head Coach Les Miles, UGA Head Coach Mark Richt, Auburn Head Coach
Gene Chizik, Tennessee Head Coach Derek Dooley, Houston Texans’ Andre Johnson, UGA
LB Jarvis Jones, Chicago Bears’ Lance Briggs, Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney, Golden
State Warriors’ Steph Curry, and just about every sportswriter or broadcaster
around the country.
The
Georgia football team, fresh off their win against Florida, held hands and
bowed their heads in their locker room and said a prayer that was organized by
Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt, linebacker Jarvis Jones, injured-WR Michael
Bennett, and freshman running backs Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley.
Now
that is respect.
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