Room broke out in applause after Marcus Lattimore's pro day workout

03/27/2013

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By Justin Burnette
According to the Gamecock football Twitter account, running back Marcus Lattimore was applauded after today's South Carolina pro day workout. As many college football fans know, Lattimore suffered a gruesome injury to his knee last fall and has been rehabilitating since then. He did not do a full workout out today, but he did do about 15-20 minutes of rehab drills according to a tweet by NFL Draft Insider's Tony Pauline.  
Lattimore announced he was leaving school to enter the NFL Draft last December. Coach Steve Spurrier had high praise for the star South Carolina running back.

Spurrier said,
"Very few guys I remember where I was when he committed. I remembered where I was when Marcus committed. I was in my office in there with the TV on like probably all you other Gamecocks. We remember where we were when Marcus said he was going to sign with South Carolina." 

Steve Spurrier Speaks
The injury suffered by Lattimore was a dislocated left kneecap and several torn knee ligaments in a game against Tennessee on October 27 of last year. It was so extreme that it is surprising to see him even doing the type of workouts that he is now. 

Warning video below is graphic and may be difficult to watch

Lattimore tallied 662 rushing yards, 173 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns in 9 games last season after suffering an ACL injury to his other knee in 2011. His freshman year, in which he never suffered a major setback, he racked up 1,197 rushing yards and 412 receiving yards with 19 touchdowns. He finished his collegiate career with3,444 yards from scrimmage and 41 touchdowns. 

When at full health, he was a strong workhorse running back that had some straight forward speed, but the damage to his knees make his pro career very questionable. I doubt he will be drafted in any of the early rounds, but some team may pick him in the later half. He was once a sure thing as a top pro prospect, but since what he described as what felt like a "nightmare" last October, it would be amazing to seem him succeed in the NFL. I am sure many Gamecock and football fans in general will be rooting for him wherever or whatever he becomes successful at.  

Marcus Lattimore Recovery & at NFL Combine

Other Articles:

Pro Day Recap Manti Te'o

NFL Draft Page

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Dynamic Dozen Heisman Contenders.

10/14/2011

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This is a list of Heisman Trophy contenders. I ranked them on who I feel is most worthy, but I also included information on the current leaders.

The frontrunners early on are quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson. Robert Griffin III is my early leader, but among Heisman voters Luck is still heavily favored to win. RG3 began this season with a big win over TCU and has only thrown one interception so far. Luck is undoubtedly the top NFL prospect in college football and is coming off of last season’s hype as Heisman runner up. In Wisconsin, they now have hope of a national championship behind their star transfer Wilson that already helped the Badgers thump Nebraska. 
 
It is midseason so the race is still wide open. There are a couple of running backs that are just a big game or two away from being vaulted to the top of Heisman contention. Trent Richardson is still a strong contender and LaMichael James was running himself back into the race until an injury to his elbow which may keep him out of it.There are also long shot contenders that could rise. LSU CB Tyrann Mathieu is in the running, but he will need to keep putting up eye popping stats to stay in contention as a defensive player. Oklahoma QB Landry Jones jumped to number two on the website Stiff Arm Trophy after last weekend's demolition of Texas. 

I actually included 13 players in the Dynamic Dozen since LaMichael James is injured and I felt that AJ Jenkins is the best wide receiver worth mentioning so I have him tied with Denard Robinson for the last spot. 
 
1. Robert Griffin III QB Baylor, 360 pass/rush ypg, 21 total touchdowns, 80.3% completion, 212.9 passer rating.

2. Andrew Luck QB Stanford, 276.6 passing ypg, 73.1% completion, 15 total touchdowns.

3. Russell Wilson QB Wisconsin, 272.2 passing ypg, 74.8% completion, 15 total touchdowns, 216.9 passer rating.

4. Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State, 376 passing ypg, 15 passing touchdowns, 75.8% completion.

5. Trent Richardson RB Alabama, 146.3 rush/receiving ypg, 12 total touchdowns. 

6. Tyrann Mathieu CB LSU, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumbles recovered, 2 interceptions, 5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 touchdowns.

7. Kellen Moore QB Boise State, 278.2 passing ypg, 17 passing touchdowns, 171.6 passer rating, 74% completion.

8. Landry Jones QB Oklahoma, 362.8 passing ypg, 15 total touchdowns. 

9. Case Keenum QB Houston, 384.8 passing ypg, 17 passing touchdowns, 71.4% completion, 174.8 passer rating.

10. LaMichael James RB Oregon, 202.2 rush/receiving ypg, 9 total touchdowns. 

11. Marcus Lattimore RB South Carolina, 155.3 rush/receiving ypg, 10 total touchdowns

12t. Denard Robinson QB Michigan, 308.3 pass/rush ypg, 18 total touchdowns

12t. AJ Jenkins WR Illinois, 135.8 receiving ypg, 7 receiving touchdowns.

Some other players just out of the Heisman spotlight: David Wilson RB Virginia Tech, Tajh Boyd QB Clemson, Matt Barkley QB USC, Tyler Wilson QB Arkansas, Geno Smith QB West Virginia, and Robert Woods WR USC.

Links to other Heisman lists and information: 

Heisman Watch Week 7 ESPN Expert’s Poll
http://espn.go.com/college-football/heisman11/

Week 6: Jones replaces Wilson in top two.
http://www.stiffarmtrophy.com/

2011 Heisman Trophy Predictions
http://www.docsports.com/current/heisman-trophy-predictions.html

LaMichael James' Heisman hopes falter in wake of elbow injury.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/cory_mccartney/10/10/heisman-watch/index.html

Honey Badger for Heisman.
http://insider.espn.go.com/college-football/blog/_/name/mcgee_ncf_ryan/id/7087248/cfb-lsu-tigers-db-tyrann-mathieu-heisman-case
 
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Dynamic Dozen Early Heisman Watch

05/17/2011

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·         Andrew Luck Junior QB Stanford 70.7 Comp%, 32 TDs, 170.2 Passer Rating

·         Kellen Moore Senior QB Boise State 71.3 Comp%, 35 TDs, 182.6 Passer Rating 

·         LaMichael James Junior RB Oregon 1731 Rush Yds, 5.9 Avg Rush, 24 Total TDs

·         Justin Blackmon Junior WR Oklahoma State 1782 Receiving Yds, 16.1 Avg Rec, 21 Total TDs

·         Denard Robinson Junior QB Michigan 4272 Total YDs, 6.6 Avg Rush, 32 Total TDs

·         Landry Jones Junior QB Oklahoma 4718 Pass Yds, 38 TDs

·         Brandon Weeden Senior QB Oklahoma State 4277 Pass Yds, 35 TDs

·         Knile Davis Junior HB Arkansas 1322 Rush Yds, 6.5 Avg Rush, 13 Rush TDs

·         Trent Richardson Junior HB Alabama, 6.3 Avg Rush, 10 Total TDs

·         Ryan Broyles Senior WR Oklahoma 1622 Receiving Yds, 14 TDs

·         Marcus Lattimore Sophomore HB South Carolina 1609 Total Yds, 19 Total TDs

·         Alshon Jeffery Junior WR South Carolina 1517 Receiving Yds, 17.2 Avg Rec, 9 TDs

*Stat totals are from last season.
These are my Dynamic Dozen Heisman frontrunners coming into the 2011 season. However, many of times the Heisman winner ends up being someone that was not on preseseason watch lists.
Here are links to other watch lists and Heisman info:
Heisman Pundit
http://heismanpundit.com/2011/02/22/the-2011-heismanpundit-com-heisman-trophy-watch-list/
Bleacher Report
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/700999-michigan-football-win-over-irish-would-vault-denard-robinson-into-heisman-lead
ESPN Pac-12 Blog
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/20134/is-the-2011-heisman-trophy-a-pac-12-race
These lists cover most of the preseason candidates except some longshots like Chris Relf and Edwin Baker which may have just as good of a chance looking at recent history. Bleacher Report has Terrell Pryor on their list, but I doubt he will have a chance since he has to sit out five games. Andrew Luck will be at the top of almost everyone's Heisman watch going into week one. It will be his trophy to lose. Here is a YouTube video of his college highlights so far.



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College Football Universe Top 10

05/04/2011

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1. Oklahoma
After last season's Big 12 championship and Fiesta Bowl win, the Sooners are returning a veteran class with a stellar offense and an all around solid team.

2. Oregon
The Ducks bring back some key impact players like Darron Thomas and LaMichael James from a squad that lost the National Championship game by only 3 points.

3. Alabama
The Tide rolls into another season with an elite defense returning most of the players from last season's top five defensive squad while bringing in a top rated recruiting class. 

4. Boise State
The boys in blue down in Boise consistently win each season under Coach Petersen plus they are bringing back a Heisman finalist in Kellen Moore. 

5. Stanford
The Cardinal faithful have the most feared ball slinger in college football in Andrew Luck which is the clear preseason Heisman favorite.

6. Oklahoma State
The Cowboys have a high scoring shoot em out kind of offense that will continue to give teams trouble with ten starters returning from a top five offense last season.

7. Florida State
The Seminoles return 16 starters on offense/defense from a team that won the Chick fil A Bowl against South Carolina and brought in a top notch recruiting class for this season.

8. Arkansas
The Hogs have an elite squad of wide receivers that is the deepest in the nation and returns enough playmakers on both sides of the ball to make a run at the BCS.

9. LSU
The mad hatter consistently squeaks out big wins each year due to his solid defensive squads and deranged play calling. They are an experienced team that could be a BCS contender. 

10. South Carolina
QB Stephen Garcia is questionable for the Gamecocks. But standout HB Marcus Lattimore will be back this season and Spurrier reeled in the number one rated recruit.

Just outside the Top 10: TCU, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.


I will be posting the rest of the top 25 soon. See how CFU rankings compare so far to the ESPN College Football Live Top 25: http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/18792/oklahoma-tops-cfb-live-preseason-poll
I also copied this blog post to www.HogBlog.org.


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