Sunday, August 5, 2012

Columbia, SC -- October 15th last year seems like a long time ago for Marcus Lattimore.

That day in Starkville, Mississippi, the South Carolina running back tore up his knee, ending his season and taking him out of the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Luckily for Lattimore, sports medicine isn't what it used to be. The now-junior tail back says he's 100-percent healthy and ready to go, something the Head Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, says couldn't have happened when he was playing.

The biggest challenge now is getting over the mental barriers that follow a major injury. Of course, there's no better way than to jump right in.

Lattimore said, "Just putting those pads on. Just getting it out of my mind that when I get hit, I'm going to be fine. That's my main thing."

Spurrier added, "We think he's going to be fine. In practice there's no even thinking about he's got a knee that's just been operated on."

Lattimore and the Gamecocks are counting down the days until they get under the lights for the first game. That comes Thursday, August 30th, at Vanderbilt.

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