Height:  5’11″

Weight:  221 pounds

Position Rank: 3

Drafted By:

40 Yard Dash:  N/A

Bench Press:  N/A

Vertical Jump:  N/A

Broad Jump:  N/A

20-Yard Shuttle: N/A

Career Stats

Scouting Report/Player Notes

Marcus Lattimore is one of the top running backs in all of college football–when healthy. Lattimore missed over half of the 2011 season after tearing his knee up in October. Prior to missing time, Lattimore was having an up-and-down 2011 campaign after completely taking the college football world by storm as a true freshman in 2010. As a frosh, Lattimore had 1,197 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns, but that’s not the extent of his game. He looked well beyond his years in terms of his pass catching abilities, hauling in 29 passes for 412 yards and two more scores. Because of his size, he is very hard for defenders to take down, especially on initial contact, but he’s not as powerful of a back as you would expect for someone who is over 230 pounds. He is elusive in the open field and able to make defenders miss pretty easily, which is impressive at his size. He has excellent burst and is very decisive with his cuts and with the hole he is hitting. His quickness to the edge is elite, and he can make something out of nothing in a hurry. There are times when you are watching him where he makes a busted run up the middle look like it was designed to go outside because of how quick he is. I don’t see him running in the 4.3 or maybe even 4.4 range, but his quickness and agility are up there among some of the best backs I’ve seen.

Very good student and has those intangibles that you look for. Going to have to work really hard to get back to full strength from that ACL injury, but for a prospect, that’s not the worst thing because you can come back from those types of injuries bigger, better, stronger, and in better shape and with more time to dissect things off the field. For his position, it’s not a good injury to have on your resume’, especially because there is a decent chance of it potentially happening again, and that could drive down his status if he is unable to stay fully healthy for a season. South Carolina needs to do the right thing for his future and not rush him back just so they can compete in 2012. If he is rushed back before he’s ready, it could be a very short NFL career for him.

If he is healthy, he is a no-brainer first round prospect in my opinion. There are virtually no flaws to his overall game. He has the potential to be a 25-30 carry workhorse back in the NFL, and do it for a long time provided his knee holds up. I think the sky is the limit for Lattimore, who will go down as one of the best backs to play in college football.

2011 Notes:

I don’t care that Lattimore is not eligible until 2013 at the earliest, he is so freaking special that he needs to be written about. This man missed a game in 2010, and had one game where he had one carry for negative one yard, and he still managed a true freshman campaign that included 1,197 yards on 249 carries highlighted by 17 rushing touchdowns. He also showed that he is a man among boys in the passing game, where he caught 29 passes for 412 yards and two more touchdowns. He should be a leading Heisman Trophy candidate for the 2011 season, and is arguably the best overall running back in the country. He is the most complete back I have seen coming out since Adrian Peterson. He is very well built, powerful, and hard to bring down. Lattimore also has deceptive speed for his size, and he is a hard worker off the field. Just a big back with excellent power, who will be a very high draft pick in 2013 or 2014.

Career Highlights (via South Carolina athletics site)

2012: Gamecocks’ leading rusher with 662 yards and 11 touchdowns despite playing just nine games… named honorable mention All-SEC by the Associated Press… earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career after rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries in the season-opening win at Vanderbilt… tied the school record for career touchdowns with his 33rd when he went in from six yards out against East Carolina… carried 12 times for 85 yards and a touchdown against UAB… the touchdown was the 34th of his career, establishing a new school record… became the school’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns when he had a pair of short TD bursts against Missouri while carrying 21 times for 85 yards… also caught a career-high seven passes for 60 yards… carried 23 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the win at Kentucky… 108 of his 120 yards came in the second half… logged 109 rushing yards and a touchdown against Georgia… it was his third 100-yard rushing game against the Bulldogs… earned a spot on Phil Steele’s first-team Midseason All-SEC squad… scored the 40th touchdown of his career at LSU… did not make the start at Florida due to an injury that kept him sidelined during the week of practice… it was the first game of his collegiate career that he played in and did not start… suffered a severe right knee injury in the win over Tennessee which ended his season prematurely for the second year in a row… prior to the injury had rushed 11 times for 65 yards, including a 28-yard scoring burst, his 41st career touchdown and 38th career rushing TD… underwent knee surgery on November 2… ranks sixth in school history with 2,677 rushing yards, fourth in rushing attempts with 555, first in both rushing (38) and total (41) touchdowns, third in points scored (246) and tied for second with 11 career 100-yard rushing games… was especially impressive in leading the Gamecocks to three-straight wins over Georgia with 88 carries for 467 yards and four touchdowns rushing against the Bulldogs… named the Dr. Harris Pastides Scholar-Athlete for football at the 2012 Garnet & Black Spring Game… invited to the NFL Combine.

2011: Heisman Trophy candidate before his season ended prematurely when he suffered a knee injury in the win at Mississippi State… finished his second campaign with 818 yards on 163 carries, an average of 5.0 yards per carry… had 10 rushing touchdowns… also caught 19 passes for 182 yards and a score… ranked among the SEC and national leaders in rushing at 116.9 yards per game, scoring at 9.4 points per game, and in all-purpose yards per game at 142.9, but did not play in enough games to qualify for the national rankings… had four 100-yard rushing games (East Carolina-112; Georgia-176; Navy-246; Kentucky-102)… his 246-yard performance against Navy set a career high and was the fourth-highest single game total in school history… had a 52-yard touchdown reception right before the half that was a key play in the win over Vanderbilt… despite playing just seven games, still was named second-team All-SEC by both the Associated Press, the SEC Coaches, Rivals.com and Phil Steele… a member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

2010: True freshman who electrified South Carolina, the SEC and the nation… named first-team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com, second team by Walter Camp and fourth team by Phil Steele… unanimous choice for National Freshman of the Year… also a unanimous selection as SEC Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-SEC choice by both the league’s coaches and the AP… named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week twice after performances against Georgia and Florida… was the SEC Freshman of the Week on four occasions: honored after the Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Troy games… led the Gamecocks with 1,197 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns on 249 carries… also had 29 receptions for 412 yards and two more scores… became the school’s freshman record-holder in rushing yardage, passing Thomas Dendy’s 28-year-old record of 848 yards… notched the third-best single-season rushing total in Carolina history, behind only George Rogers’ 1,681 yards in 1979 and 1,894 yards in his Heisman Trophy-winning 1980 season… became SC’s all-time single-season leader in touchdowns with 19, breaking Harold Green’s record of 16 set in 1987… had 114 points, setting the school record previously held by PK Collin Mackie with 113 in 1987… fell one TD shy of the SEC record for TDs by a freshman, set by Tennessee’s Reggie Cobb in 1990… finished third in the SEC in rushing yards (92.1) and all-purpose yards (123.8) per game… was fifth in the league in scoring and third among non-kickers… started all 13 games in which he appeared… career debut was a 14-carry, 54-yard, two-touchdown effort versus Southern Miss… had a breakout game with a 37-carry, 182-yard, two-touchdown effort against Georgia in his second career game… the 182-yard effort was the most for a Carolina back since 2000… rushed 19 times for 97 yards with a long of 28 yards and one touchdown in the win over Furman… rushed 23 times for 93 yards and two scores and caught two passes for 16 yards and another score in the win over No. 1 Alabama… accounted for 204 yards of offense in the first half at Kentucky, carrying 13 times for 71 yards and catching four passes for 133 yards but suffered a sprained left ankle early in the third quarter and sat out the remainder of the game after logging two carries for eight yards in the second half… tied his career high with three touchdowns in the game, scoring on a 30-yard run, a 10-yard run and a 47-yard pass reception… scored a dozen touchdowns in his first six games as a collegian… named second-team Midseason All-SEC by Phil Steele… sat out the Vanderbilt game while nursing the ankle injury… had a 29-carry, 184-yard outing against Tennessee and scored a touchdown for the seventh straight game… rewrote the Carolina record books with a school-record 40 carries for 212 yards and three TDs in win over Florida that clinched Carolina’s first SEC Eastern Division title… combined with 31 yards on two catches, he outgained and outscored the Gators by himself (Lattimore: 243 yards, 18 points; Florida: 226 yards, 14 points)… became the first Gamecock to have three games with 180+ rushing yards in the same season… ran for three touchdowns on just seven carries vs. Troy… racked up 102 rushing yards, including a 58-yard run, and did not play in the second half… had 84 yards on 16 carries in SEC Championship Game… injured early in the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Florida State… had a 53-yard reception before his early departure.

Video Highlights (via YouTube)

South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore has announced he will enter the 2013 NFL Draft. An official announcement will be made this week, and possibly Wednesday.

Lattimore is currently rehabbing his knee after suffering an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament in October. He says that rehabbing with NFL team doctors will help him recover the fastest. Lattimore isn’t on crutches anymore, either.

Lattimore also missed half of the 2011 season, but began the 2012 season. Lattimore is 6’0″ and 218 pounds, and burst on the scene his freshman year after rushing for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Before he got injured this season, he rushed for 662 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Lattimore has rushed for 2,677 yards, and 38 touchdowns in his career at South Carolina.

1. Robert Griffin III, Quarterback, Baylor

This is a player who has more touchdowns on the season (13) than he does incomplete passes (12). That is just absolutely sick, regardless of the level of competition. Griffin is getting it done at an incredibly high level and on a very consistent basis. This guy is very bright, and right now is the most dominant player in college football.

STOCK: UP

(more…)

1. Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Stanford

Luck continues to be very solid this season, passing his first real test against Arizona with flying colors. He’s completed 67.1 percent of his passes this season and has thrown eight touchdowns. He’s not really “wowing” me, but he’s doing enough to hold on to the top spot until proven otherwise.

STOCK: NO CHANGE

(more…)

S. Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore is a player on the rise in the Heisman polls

1. Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Stanford

Luck has been impressive this season, and he was at his best against Duke, completing 71.4 percent of his passes for 290 yards, four touchdowns, and only one interception. This guy is the real deal, folks. He takes care of business, he is smart, and he is probably the most dominant player in all of college football right now. He will have his first real test this weekend against Arizona.

STOCK: UP

2. Landry Jones, Quarterback, Oklahoma

Jones was idle week two, but he will get a great test from fifth ranked Florida State this Saturday night, a game any college football or NFL draft fan should be watching undoubtedly. Jones will be showcased against the top team in the ACC and one of the better, more underrated teams in the country despite being fifth in the polls.

STOCK: IDLE

(more…)

Isaiah Crowell is a name to watch in the SEC for the next few years

If there’s a team in college football who had a more grueling start to the 2011 season than the Georgia Bulldogs, feel free to point them out. After facing top five power Boise State and then 12th ranked South Carolina, this team is probably really worn down. They have certainly given it all they’ve got, but an 0-2 record is not going to cut it in the tough SEC.

South Carolina forced timely turnovers and was able to hold off a late rally by quarterback Aaron Murray and Georgia, who saw the coming out party of freshman running back Isaiah Crowell.

I was extremely impressed with the balance in Crowell’s game despite the fact that he’s a young player. He has good size for a freshman and displayed excellent vision, speed, and power against the Gamecocks. He is going to be a fun one to watch.

One back who has already established himself as an elite player in the conference as well as one of the best runners in the country is sophomore Marcus Lattimore, who had a huge day.

Star Watch

South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore

Lattimore was his usual self, absolutely dominating the Georgia defense to the tune of 27 carries for 176 yards and a touchdown, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

This guy is going to be a stud in the NFL provided USC doesn’t work him to the bone. He has great size, power, vision–he is really the whole package. I love watching him play and he’s one of those young players you really just crave to see more of. His game speaks volumes for itself.

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Andrew Luck still leads the Heisman chase.

Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Stanford

Luck didn’t even finish the game against San Jose State, but Stanford scored 57 points and Luck was part of 21. He threw two touchdown passes, had 171 total passing yards on the day, and scored a touchdown on the ground. Luck is one of the best players in the country and barring injury will likely be the number one pick in next year’s draft. He’s a stud.

STOCK: UP

2. Landry Jones, Quarterback, Oklahoma

Jones is the leader of the best team in the country, yet still I believe he is underrated. He threw for 375 yards and a touchdown in Oklahoma’s blowout win over Tulsa, including completing 74.5 percent of his passes. His accuracy is fantastic, and he knows how to move the football up and down the field. I really like this guy, and I said before the season that he would contend for the top pick in 2012 with Luck.

STOCK: UP

3. Kellen Moore, Quarterback, Boise State

Moore is a stud, and even without his top receivers from last season, he completed over 82 percent of his passes–against Georgia–and had three touchdowns in a Boise State victory. People say he is too small to play in the NFL, but I’m not ready to count him out.

STOCK: UP

4. Marcus Lattimore, Running Back, South Carolina

One of the most dominant backs in the country showed he was not all hype and ran all over East Carolina this weekend, carrying the ball 23 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns. He is a beast, and sadly isn’t draft eligible until 2013.

Stock: UP

5. Robert Griffin III, Quarterback, Baylor

Griffin completed 77.8 percent of his passes against a ranked TCU squad en route to a 50-40 victory. He threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns, while also catching a key pass and running for 38 yards. He vaulted himself into the Heisman discussion with that performance.

STOCK: UP

Alshon Jeffery is my top WR prospect for 2012

The Ol’ Ball Coach Steve Spurrier has put together quite a program at South Carolina, one that includes two absolute blue-chip prospects on the radar for the 2012 and/or 2013 NFL Drafts, as well as a top 25 pre-season ranking. The Gamecocks have had trouble finishing games as well as finishing out seasons under Spurrier’s watch, but the hope is that with Stephen Garcia having more lives (metaphorically speaking) than a cat, this crew can finally win an SEC title in 2011.

This team has a bunch of NFL talent, it’s just a matter of when these guys decide to come out of school…

73 Rokevious Watkins (RS Senior), OT, 6’4″ 319

Entering his third season with the Gamecocks after transferring from a Military Academy. Big, powerful offensive lineman who returns as the leader of the South Carolina offensive line. Started at both guard positions in 2010, but projects as a right guard or tackle for this coming season with inexperience at the right tackle position. Definitely a road-grader and a hard worker who has done a lot and given up a lot to finally play for  the Gamecocks. Probably has the most potential at the next level as a right or left guard, where he can stay in a “phone booth” situation and dominate his man one one one.

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Game: #1 Alabama @ #10 Arkansas

Where to Watch: Saturday, September 25th 3:30PM ET CBS

Prospects: S Mark Barron vs QB Ryan Mallet

Thoughts: This is Ryan Mallet’s big chance to step up against one of the most talented defenses in the country. Last year, he had his worst game of the year at Alabama, but this year he gets them at home. He’ll still needs to stay poised against the rush and sharp on his accuracy because there is speed and talent all across the defense. Mark Barron has been a leader in the secondary for the Crimson Tide which is #2 in scoring defense, allowing 6.3 points/gm. A lot of that has had to do with Barron patrolling the defensive backfield attacking any pass that flies his way.

How they Raise Their Stock: If Mallet can have his way with the Alabama defense, no ones draft stock will be higher. Heck, depending on how well he holds his own against them, Arkansas could lose and people will think more of Mallet as long as he has a good day. Some target numbers: 58% comp, 250+ yards, 2 TDs, no turnovers. Barron needs those numbers to be down. If he can win the mental game with Mallet, not allow big plays, and create a turnover or two, his stock will continue skyward.

Game: #12 South Carolina @ #17 Auburn

Where to Watch: Saturday, September 25th 7:45PM ET ESPN, ESPN3.com

Prospects: QB Stephen Garcia vs DT Nick Fairley

Thoughts: Garcia leads a very young Gamecock offense into a resurgent Auburn for what looks like quite a match-up on paper. Garcia struggled off the field when he first got to campus, but he seems to have gotten that in order and is playing well for South Carolina. He would be a late round prospect at this point, but he looks very improved with his mechanics, though still makes some bad decisions and has spotty accuracy. However, he has quite a group of young talent around him, even with the departure of TE Weslye Saunders. Keep an eye on Sophomore WR Alshon Jeffery and Freshman RB Marcus Lattimore. Auburn DT Nick Fairley has had a strong start to the 2010 season and currently leads the Tigers in three major statistical categories: Sacks, Tackles for Loss, and.. Interceptions? Its true, after three games, Fairley has the lone INT for the team. That surely won’t last if Fairley can continue to gets lots of quarterback pressure and rattle Garcia.

How they Raise Their Stock: This should be a close game and if Garcia can lead his team to victory with his arm, then his stock will start to get noticed. Fairley’s stock is already sky rocketing, so as long as he continues to play in opponent’s backfields, he should continue to move up.

Game: #22 West Virginia @ #15 LSU

Where to Watch: Saturday, September 25th 9PM ET ESPN2, ESPN3.com

Prospects: CB Patrick Peterson vs WR/RBs Noel Devine/Jock Sanders

Thoughts: The West Virginia attack features a unique challenge for Peterson as their best play makers are much smaller speed demons that play in an offense designed to get them into space and make a play. It will be interesting how LSU uses Peterson, whether he mans up against the best receiver or zone in an effort to prevent big plays. Can Peterson match-up against smaller, quicker players who are capable of creating space for themselves? He hasn’t disappointed so far and should have himself a good game. Devine and Sanders may not have ideal size, but they are home run threats with the ball in their hands. Because the offense uses plenty of option and misdirection, look for each to get a few chances to make plays against this SEC defense.

How they Raise Their Stock: Peterson really has no place to go but down, so as long as he continues his pace, he’ll be fine. Devine and Sanders need about 175 all purpose yards and a touchdown each to move their stocks forward.

Game: #24 Oregon State @ #3 Boise State

Where to Watch: Saturday, September 25th 8PM ET ABC

Prospects: DT Stephen Paea vs OT Nate Potter

Thoughts: Ok, so they will rarely actually go one on one, but while there will be a plenty talent on the field most of it will be on offense and not have to play against one another. With more attention needed for the interior line to focus on Paea, Potter should get a lot of one on one looks. The rest of Boise’s offensive line is no slouch having blocked for one of the more prolific offenses in college football and Paea will have his hands full imposing his will against them.

How they Raise Their Stock: Paea needs to display his strength and instincts by taking advantage of one on one situations and commanding a double team inside. Beating those double teams will really push his stock up. Potter needs to continue to keep QB Kellen Moore’s jersey clean while showing some strength on his part to compliment his quick feet and size.