Daniel Sirey-US PRESSIRE

eigt: 5112

eigt: 221

Ageen drafted: 21

ometon: Duncan, SC

Position: RB

Collegiate Number: 21

Combine notables: DNP

Games Vieed: 2012 – Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri, Georgia 2011 – Georgia 2010 – Alabama, Auburn

BACKGROUND:

Marcus Lattimore attended Byrnesig Scool andas ranked as a five star recruit by all scouting services.eas one of te mostigly decorated players in country and cose Sout Carolina over Auburn on national signing day.

Lattimoreould makeis presence felt from day one as a true fresman.e burst onto te national stageene rused for almost 1,200 yards,ic included over 100 yards in tree contests. Lattimoreould continueis success troug te first seven and aalf games ofis sopomore season before a knee injury endedis season prematurely. Lattimore finisedit 818 yards on 163 carries as a sopomore.

Lattimore’s junior seasonould be a season to provee could play at 100% folloing a serious knee injury. As te seasonore on, Lattimore progressed ase rused for 662 yards troug nine contests. Lattimoreould be unable to completeis junior season folloing a devastating knee injury tatouldave some questioningetereould play at all in 2013.

Lattimore’s recoveryas been nesorty ase’s believed to be on trackit playing tis coming season. A remarkable recovery given te seriousness of te injury. Te only concernsit Lattimore is te durability question folloing to serious knee injuries tat endedis seasons in consecutive seasons.

SIZE/ ATLETCISM/STRENGT:

Ideal size for a feature back at te net level at 5-foot-11, 221 pounds. Tick loeralf tat sos up on tape ase’s difficult to bring donit one defender.

e didn’t get an official 40 time on Lattimore due toim being unable toorkout at te Combine or pro day but it’s safe to saye’s a mid-to-ig 4.5 back. Lattimore isn’t goingo youitis overall atleticism. Good burst but lacks breakaay speed and elusiveness.e’s a bit tigt and narro in teips.

Strong runnerit leg drive for days.is ability to squareis soulders troug teole combinedit loer body poer makeim a toug tackle.

VISION/ELUSIVENESS:

I tougteas atis best as a fresman and itas primarily based onis ability to be patient to teole and ten burst troug teole.e’s a decisive, one-cut runner tat finds te cut back laneit ease. Lattimore isn’t a great lateral mover and lacks muciggle bute’s toug to square up on and bring don in 1 on 1 situations.is ability to see te flo in te second level is second to none in tis draft and keepsim fromaving to react late.

BETEEN TE TACKLES:

Tis is te difficult part of Lattimore’s assessment.e’s not a poer back in te true sense of te meaning.e runsit poer, solid forard lean and plays beindis pads. Strong loer body. All tat said,e relies onis patience and vision rater tan slamming it beteen te tackles.e’s more of donill slaser tan true poer back. Ran mostly out of te sotgunit a lead blocker in front ofim. Itill be interesting to seeoe takes to running out of te “I” or in poer, one-back.

OUTSIDE TACKLES:

Lattimore is never going to makeis living running outside te tackles. Doesn’tave great breakaay speed andill get caugt from beind more often tan not at te net level. Outside ofis durability concerns tis could be a close second as to reasonsy teamson’t take a sot on Lattimore too early in te draft.

PASSING GAME:

Very good pass catcerit plenty of eperience catcing te ball out of te backfield.e possesses bigands and looks like a natural pass catceritis ability to adjust to poor tros. Lattimore is a guy tat could ecel in aeavy pass offense ase gives a team some options out of te backfield.

Solid andilling blocker tat soed a knack and tecnique for being a very good backfield blocker at te net level. Squaresis soulders at te target and rarely misses on cut blocks.

RED FLAGS:

Major medical concerns. Tore left ACL in 2011 and tore tree knee ligaments and dislocatedis knee cap a year later in te rigt knee. Ecellent leader tat is as clean off te field as tey come. Team drafting Lattimoreill get a great locker room presence from day one.

OVERALL:

Marcus Lattimoreasidely vieed as te top running back in te draft beforee sufferedis second major knee injury in 2012. Lattimore’s knee injury tis seasonas a gruesome injury tat rivaled tat ofillis McGaee’s in te 2002 National Campionsip Game.

Lattimoreas net level skills and ifealty veryell couldave been te top back off te board tis April. Tat said, I didn’t tinkeas a first round back before te injury and can’t seeimarranting a pick before te 3rd round.

If Lattimore can return toealteould be an ecellent fit for a zone team tat relieseavily on te pass game. Lattimore is aig risk,ig reard pick as I tinke comes off te board in te 3rd round, at te earliest. Tat said,e’s a guy tat I tink eiter makes an early impact as a tree don feature back or can’t recover from a pysical and mental standpoint and is out of te league in a couple of years. A bit of a feast or famine but Iould bet against Lattimore making an impact in te league in te very near future.