



If South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore is looking for a symbol, Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee is his man. If Lattimore is looking for some words of sympathy or wisdom from McGahee, he's going to be disappointed.



"What for? So people can feel sorry for you? That don't work," said McGahee, who is roughly two months away from the 10th anniversary of a knee injury that was similarly ugly to the one Lattimore suffered last Saturday.

Lattimore dislocated his knee and suffered ligament damage when he was hit during South Carolina's win over Tennessee. So ends, for now, the career of one of the most promising players in college.

In January 2003 while playing for the University of Miami, McGahee tore three ligaments in his knee during the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. McGahee was projected to be a top five draft pick in the NFL. He still ended up a first-round pick (No. 23 overall) after doing extensive rehab work on the knee and getting an assist from agent Drew Rosenhaus. McGahee didn't actually play again until the 2004 season, but he has had a far more successful career than anyone could have ever imagined.

More successful than even he imagined.

With 554 yards through seven games, McGahee is well on his way to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons after the age of 30. He would join a very small fraternity to achieve the feat, including Curtis Martin, Tiki Barber, Thomas Jones and John Riggins. Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton, the top two rushers in league history, each did it three consecutive years after their 30th birthdays.

"At first, I said I wanted to make it eight seasons," said McGahee, who discounts some of his accomplishment because he only played part-time in 2009 and 2010 when he was with the Baltimore Ravens. "Then, when I made it eight, I wanted to make 10."

Now that he has made 10, what's the next goal?

"I'm going to play as long as they'll have me. I'm going to write my own history books," he said with a laugh.

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But playing this long has been a serious task for McGahee. It's been a combination of physical maintenance and mental approach that started practically the minute after he got hurt.

"I just wanted family around me, no outsiders," McGahee said, explaining that keeping out the sorrow and compassion was critical to his recovery. For him to get better, he needed determination, not compassion. That's why when asked if he would send Lattimore a note of encouragement, McGahee seemed almost insulted by the idea.

"When I got hurt, I didn't want to hear from anybody outside of my family," he said. "The only thing I can do is show him it can be done. Look at me, I did it.

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