Marcus Lattimore

Marcus Lattimore (born October 29, 1991) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). Lattimore played college football for the University of South Carolina. The San Francisco 49ers chose him in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Early years
Lattimore was born in Duncan, South Carolina. He attended James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, and played high school football for the Byrnes Rebels. One of the most decorated players in South Carolina high school football history, Lattimore was ESPN RISE National High School Junior Football Player of the Year in 2008. In his senior year, he earned USA Today high school All-American honors and was named South Carolina's Mr. Football. He chose South Carolina over Auburn on National Signing Day.

College career
Lattimore enrolled in the University of South Carolina, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks football team from 2010 to 2012. A highly sought-after college recruit, he made an immediate impact for the Gamecocks as a freshman.

2010
On September 11, 2010, in just his second career college football game, Lattimore broke 42 tackles on 37 carries, rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns against the Georgia Bulldogs. On October 9, 2010, against the then #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, Lattimore had 23 carries for 93 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and caught one receiving touchdown from quarterback Stephen Garcia. On October 16, 2010, Lattimore scored two touchdowns in a road loss to the Kentucky Wildcats before missing the rest of the game with an ankle injury. On October 30, 2010, against the Tennessee Volunteers, Lattimore had 29 carries for 184 yards and one rushing touchdown. On November 13, 2010 against the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Lattimore had 40 carries for 212 yards and three rushing touchdowns, to defeat the Gators and clinch the SEC East for the Gamecocks.

On December 4, 2010 in the 2010 SEC Championship Game, Lattimore had 16 carries for 84 yards for the Gamecocks in the 56-17 loss to the Auburn Tigers. In December 2010, Lattimore was named the NCAA Freshman of the Year, headlining the All-Freshman Team, by The Sporting News. On December 31, 2010, in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl, Lattimore had one carry that went for a one yard loss and caught three passes for 48 yards, before getting a concussion in the first quarter on a pass reception in which he lost a fumble in a 26-17 loss to Florida State.

2011
South Carolina began their 2011 season at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on September 3, 2011 against East Carolina. He rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries and added three touchdowns as the Gamecocks battled back to win 56-37. Lattimore also caught three passes for 33 yards.

The Gamecocks traveled to Athens on September 10 to play SEC East rivals Georgia. Lattimore carried the ball on 27 occasions for 176 yards and one touchdown.

South Carolina then played a home game against the Naval Academy, and in a 24-21 game Lattimore set a new school record for 246 yards, more than Heisman Trophy winner and former Gamecock George Rogers ever ran for, and also scored three touchdowns in the game. The following weekend, South Carolina played host to SEC East foe Vanderbilt. Lattimore had his first sub-100 yard rushing game of the season, running for just 77 yards on 20 carries but was able to add a 22 yard touchdown. He also caught three passes for 73 yards, scoring on a 52-yard reception, leading his team to a 21-3 win and a 4-0 start. He tore a knee ligament on October 15 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and it was announced that Lattimore would miss the remainder of the 2011 season due to the injury.

2012
In Lattimore's first game back following his knee ligament injury, he rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries as the Gamecocks topped Vanderbilt 17-13. In the Gamecock's 49-6 victory over UAB on September 15, Lattimore rushed for 85 yards and one touchdown, his 34th touchdown at Carolina, surpassing George Rogers school record of 33 career touchdowns. Lattimore turned in his best performance of the season against Kentucky, rushing for 120 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-17 win on September 29.

On October 6, the Gamecocks played host to the Georgia Bulldogs in a top ten showdown that ESPN College Gameday was in town for. Lattimore ran for 109 yards and a score as the Gamecocks crushed #5 Georgia 35-7 and posted two school records, three straight wins over Georgia and ten straight victories in all.

On October 27, Lattimore suffered an injury to his right leg against the Tennessee Volunteers. Lattimore fumbled on the play and the Tennessee Volunteers recovered the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. The fumble was not called and the play was not review by officials due to the reaction of both teams to the injury. Lattimore was carted off the field while both teams joined together, giving him their best wishes. Citing unnamed sources, CBS Sports reported that Lattimore is believed to have suffered injuries similar to those suffered by Willis McGahee in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl (torn ACL, PCL, and MCL). South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier has since stated that Lattimore had dislocated his right knee against Tennessee, and that the injury is something that Lattimore can recover from to play football again. Lattimore's knee damages were repaired by James Andrews.

On December 10, Lattimore declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft.

Professional Career
On December 12, 2012, Lattimore confirmed in a press conference that he would enter the 2013 NFL Draft. On April 27, 2013, he was drafted in the fourth round, with the 131st overall pick, by the San Francisco 49ers. On May 31, 2013, the San Francisco 49ers signed Lattimore to a 4-year deal.