On a day when the passing game couldn’t get going, running back Marcus Lattimore showed he was just fine. The Southeastern Conference announced on Monday morning that Lattimore is the recipient of the first Offensive Player of the Week award for the 2012 season.
Lattimore rushed for 110 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns in his return from last season’s knee injury, which sidelined him the final six games. Lattimore also had three catches for 21 yards, which were both highs for the Gamecocks in their 17-13 win over Vanderbilt last Thursday night.
During his Sunday teleconference, head coach Steve Spurrier said that Lattimore’s knee was fine in the hours and days following his first game back.
“He had a sensational game, obviously,” Spurrier said. “When there was a little room to run, he made yards. He had some outstanding runs.”
With his 110-yard effort, Lattimore moved past Derek Watson into 13th place all-time with 2,124 rushing yards. He is also just two touchdowns from tying George Rogers and Harold Green for the school’s all-time rushing touchdown total.
Left guard A.J. Cann was also mentioned by the SEC under “Other Outstanding Performances. According to the SEC release, Cann graded out at 87 percent with seven knockdown blocks and five pancake blocks against Vanderbilt.
South Carolina returns to the practice field tonight to continue its preparations for the home-opener against East Carolina at 12:21 p.m. on Saturday afternoon on the SEC Network. There is no media availability scheduled until Tuesday morning when Spurrier will hold his weekly press conference at noon.
- John Whittle
- South Carolina Insider - TheBigSpur