South Carolina Football: Marcus Lattimore to receive SEC honor

Marcus Lattimore is the 2nd-best running back to ever play for the South Carolina football program (Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers is the 1st). #21 is also the biggest “What If?” story in team history.

Despite losing almost a full season’s worth of games to knee injuries across three seasons and having his career cut short by those same injuries, Lattimore owns the South Carolina football record for career rushing touchdowns (38) and touchdowns from scrimmage (41). In 29 career games, Lattimore put up over 3400 yards from scrimmage to go with those 41 touchdowns.

Each of his three seasons ended with an injury. In 2010, he left the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on the first drive with a broken jaw and concussion. In 2011, he tore his ACL against Mississippi State while blocking downfield. In 2012, the most serious of the ailments, a devastating knee injury, ended his night against Tennessee, and eventually, it ended his career.

Despite never finishing a season, Lattimore was an All-American in 2010 (as a freshman!) and made at least one All-SEC team all three years he was in Columbia.

Lattimore was one of the driving forces behind South Carolina football’s greatest run in team history. From 2010-2013, the Gamecocks won the SEC East (2010) and then won eleven games three seasons in a row (2011-2013). Those Gamecock teams will be honored during the South Carolina-Jacksonville State game in November. 

Eventually, when Lattimore is ready for the honor, the University of South Carolina will retire his #21 jersey, and the name “Lattimore” will be lit up on the pressbox of Williams-Brice Stadium forever.

Now, Marcus Lattimore will receive an honor from the greatest conference in college football. The SEC announced on Thursday that this December, at the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, Lattimore will be honored as an SEC Legend.

Each season since 1994, the conference has chosen one player from each SEC school to become an SEC Legend. Lattimore joins fellow Gamecock greats like George Rogers, Alshon Jeffery, Sterling Sharpe, and John Abraham on the list of 30 Gamecocks to receive the honor.