After dealing with one of the toughest injuries in sports over the past year, former South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore likely will not play for the San Francisco 49ers this season after being drafted in April in the fourth round.
According to ESPN.com, sources said that the team will be looking at whether to put the running back on the injured reserve list or the physically unable to perform list, meaning that he could miss the entire season, or just the first six games depending on what they decide. Either way, it is likely that the team will not play Lattimore this season, as they want to make sure he is fully healthy from the serious knee surgery he had last year after being injured for the Gamecocks.
Lattimore was taken in the fourth round with the 131st selection in the draft and many felt that the 49ers would try to keep him on the sidelines to develop him as he gets healthy in the future. The team ranked fourth in the league in rushing yards per game last season, so it's not as if they need him so badly and now they can take their time as he recovers fully from the scary injury that saw his knee get shattered.
"I can't foresee him stepping on the field this season," one source told ESPN.
Lattimore suffered a serious injury in late October against Tennessee after a players helmet hit him directly on the knee. He hurt his anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament and was taken off the field on a stretcher. Lattimore suffered no setbacks in his rehabilitation and has dealt with injuries in the past, but nothing as serious as the knee. Lattimore missed part of the 2011 season with a torn ACL in his left knee, but was able to return for the start of this season.
Lattimore was one of the prize recruits for head coach Steve Spurrier while at South Carolina, but the two never combined to win an SEC title. The junior was one of the best running backs in the conference and rushed for 662 yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games this season. He was also a threat out of the backfield, making 26 receptions for 173 yards. Against Vanderbilt in his first game back from injury, he rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns. He had back-to-back 100-yard games against Kentucky and Georgia and scored at least one touchdown in every game but one last year.
In his final game with South Carolina, he rushed 11 times for 65 yards and one touchdown in the 38-35 win. South Carolina was ranked 86th in rushing and gained 142 yards per game in part because of Lattimore. He helped the Gamecocks to be one of the most efficient rushing attacks in the SEC over the past three years.
Against SEC teams this season, Lattimore rushed for 537 yards and nine touchdowns and averaged nearly 5.0 yards per carry. He was at his best in crunch time, rushing for 144 yards and three touchdowns with a 5.4 yards per carry average in the fourth quarter this season. South Carolina opened this season with six straight wins, but then lost two straight to LSU and Florida. The Gamecocks finished with four straight wins and will play Michigan in the Outback Bowl.
