DUNCAN, S.C. -- Marcus Lattimore always envisioned going to New York City and striding across the Radio City Music Hall stage as a first-round draft pick. After all, he was a high school and college legend in the fertile football state of South Carolina.

But, as Lattimore learned, life doesn't unfold as planned or pictured. Instead of the bright lights of the big city, Lattimore spent his draft weekend climbing a mountain in Georgia.

"The whole family, 12 of us, [many] in not-great shape, climbed to the top of Stone Mountain to celebrate the draft," said Lattimore's mother, Yolanda Smith. "We climbed to the top. We made it."

All together.

"This journey is about so much more than me," said Lattimore, who ended up being picked in the fourth round of the 2013 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. "It's about my family, [my hometown] Duncan, my state, South Carolina, everybody that helped me get back to this point. I'm doing it for all of them."

The next family destination is already determined: M&T Stadium in Baltimore.

"Aug. 7, the Baltimore Ravens," Lattimore said without looking at the 49ers' preseason schedule. "That's right there, that's going to be the biggest game. That's the one. I'm all the way back."

From celebration to devastation

Remembering exact dates has become easy for this family. Aug. 7, 2014, would simply be the first preseason game of Lattimore's second NFL season if it weren't for the events of Oct. 27, 2012.

That day started as one of celebration for Lattimore's family. It was game day in Columbia. Lattimore's South Carolina Gamecocks were playing SEC foe Tennessee in a nationally televised game.

Marcus Lattimore suffered season-ending knee injuries twice while playing for South Carolina and thought his football career might be over while being carted off the second time. Jeff Blake/USA TODAY Sports

It was festive. Lattimore's family was celebrating his health and revival. Lattimore, who had torn the ACL and MCL in his left knee in October 2011, had had three 100-yard rushing games since his return, and it was his birthday weekend.

Lattimore's family and several of his teammates had planned to take advantage of the early kickoff and celebrate Lattimore's 21st birthday, which was two days away, afterward by driving go-karts at a fun park. A teammate's mother had prepared Lattimore's favorite treat, a vanilla ice cream cake.

Then "it became devastation," said Smith, who still bursts into tears at the memory.

Smith, an extroverted woman who introduces herself with hugs, admits she's not a huge football fan. Plus, she's a nervous mother. She does love being in the stands, to visit with friends and to feed her passion for photography.

It was the second quarter and the Gamecocks were winning. Smith, as she usually did when the play was going on, had her back to the field. She was taking photos of her friends. Then, the stadium hushed. Smith's eyes turned the video board, which showed her son on the ground. She then noticed all eyes were on her. Another mother told her to get down to the field.

It is still all a blur for Smith, but she remembers the concerned faces. So many dire looks. Her son being attended to gently by trainers.

The next thing she knew, she was huddled in a side room at Williams-Brice Stadium, with Marcus sobbing.

Players from both teams surrounded Lattimore after his knee was injured against Tennessee. Gerry Melendez/The State/MCT/Getty Images

"That was the hardest part," said Lattimore's stepfather, Vernon Smith. "Marcus was apologizing to his mother for getting hurt. He kept saying, 'I'm sorry, Mama.' That was hard to see."

Instead of celebrating the Gamecocks' victory with go-karts and ice cream cake, Yolanda spent the night in a Columbia hospital holding her son's hand. Doctors at first worried Lattimore might not walk again because of nerve damage.

As he lay on the turf with his right knee shredded worse than his left knee had been 54 weeks earlier, Lattimore -- who believed his football days were done -- spent the cart ride off the field thinking about post-football life. His mind drifted to another one of his dreams: attending culinary school. (Yolanda jokes that her son, who hopes to own a restaurant and admires chef/travel TV personality Anthony Bourdain, only "attempts to cook.")

Although he had torn every ligament and dislocated the knee, there was no nerve damage. By the time he had surgery in November, Lattimore knew he had a chance to continue his pursuit of the NFL. And he simply had too much support to give up.