Former star RB Marcus Lattimore wonders why 49ers used draft pick on him
It hasn’t been long since he walked away from football, and not that much longer since he was one of the best high school and college running backs of recent memory.
But former South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore had a feeling things would never be the same following two college knee injuries, the second of which was one of the more gruesome you’ll ever see on a football field. It happened with the Gamecocks in 2012 in a game against Tennessee, so violent and disturbing that it drew hoards of players from both sidelines to console him.
It would be the final carry of his life.
Lattimore would vow to come back, and the early returns on his rehabilitation — from the doctors, anyway — as he sought to make the NFL he appeared destined for previously were extremely, even shockingly positive. So much so that the San Francisco 49ers, who were armed with 13 picks in 2013 and set with a loaded roster, decided to draft Lattimore in Round 4 in what essentially would be a redshirt selection with the hope he might be ready for the 2014 season and beyond.
It was never meant to be.
“I went out there and put a smile on my face like everything was [all right],” Lattimore told SB Nation. “But it was hell. Every day.”
He saw incremental improvement and even earned praise from his new coaches, who liked what they saw. But Lattmore knew what they couldn’t see — or feel.
“My running backs coach was like, ‘Good job! Good job!’” Lattimore said. “My offensive coordinator — I was catching balls out of the backfield — was like, ‘Man you look good!’ I was like, ‘You have no clue.'”
Throughout 2014, as he attempted to find his way back to the field miraculously, Lattimore combatted throbbing knee pain with oxycodone pills and any other methods he could. Nothing worked. So, with little fanfare, he said he prayed to God, found his peace and told 49ers officials he planned to retire early that November. That would be it for one of the most talented runners of his generation.
Those close to Lattimore had an inkling that day was coming.
“He put up a big front for everyone else, but I could see it in him,” his mother, Yolanda Smith, says. “The light was gone.”
Now, looking back in a rare interview from the quiet former star, he wonders why the 49ers even took a chance on him.
“I mean, why would you take a running back with two horrible knee injuries?” Lattimore said, wondering about his own fourth-round draft slot in 2013. “I did pretty good, I played good in college, but if I’m a GM I don’t think I would do it.”
It’s a fairly shocking statement from a player whom observers felt had the kind of mental toughness and mettle to overcome such long odds, not to mention generational talent. The 49ers felt they could afford the risk on Lattimore with the 131st overall pick, given their situation at the time, but a look back shows just how fruitless that draft class has ended up being.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
