Marcus Lattimore to Join South Carolina's Staff: Latest Comments and Reaction

Former South Carolina Gamecocks running back Marcus Lattimore will reportedly join new head coach Will Muschamp’s first staff at the school.

According to David Cloninger of the State, Lattimore “will not be a coach—instead, he will talk to the Gamecocks about life off the field beyond football, similar to what he does in his leadership academies through his foundation.”

Cloninger noted Lattimore cannot “officially join the staff until he graduates in May,” although Muschamp apparently offered the former running back the position before he even officially took the South Carolina job himself.  

Lattimore reacted to the news on Twitter:

Lattimore is the all-time touchdown leader for the Gamecocks. He played running back from 2010-12 and tallied 41 total touchdowns, 38 of which came on the ground. He also topped 1,000 rushing yards during the 2010 campaign and led the SEC in total yards from scrimmage that year with 1,609.

The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the fourth round in the 2013 draft, but he never fully recovered from devastating knee injuries that impacted his collegiate career. He tore his right ACL and MCL in 2011 and hurt his right knee again in 2012.

Lattimore officially retired in November 2014, although he never appeared in a regular-season NFL game with health concerns. He elected to return to South Carolina to finish his degree.

Once he does that, he will join Muschamp’s staff as the former Florida Gators coach attempts to turn a South Carolina program around that has trended in the wrong direction since it won 11 games every year from 2011-13. The Gamecocks were 7-6 last season and a dismal 3-9 in 2015, and they have fallen behind the Gators, Georgia and Tennessee in the SEC East pecking order.

Perhaps having a former superstar like Lattimore around will help the South Carolina offense that finished 110th in the nation in points per game this season.