<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/518962d069beddea07000001-620-465/marcus-lattimore-getting-drafted.jpg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="marcus lattimore getting drafted" width="400" /></div><p class="source"><keyword id="103436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFL">NFL</keyword> Network</p></div>South Carolina player <keyword id="1744040" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marcus-Lattimore">Marcus Lattimore</keyword> was the #1 NFL running back prospect in college football before he suffered a nasty knee injury in October.</p>
<p>In a game against Tennessee, he tore three ligaments in his knee on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marcus-lattimore-injury-video-2012-10">a hit that left his lower-leg dangling in the wrong direction</a>. It was his second catastrophic injury in two years.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, Lattimore was picked in the 4th round of the Draft.</p>
<p>The NFL followed around Lattimore on draft day and <a href="http://www.49ers.com/media-gallery/videos/NFL-Draft-Journey-Marcus-Lattimore/">made this video</a>.</p>
<p>It's fantastic, and gives you a good idea of the emotional toll Lattimore's roller-coaster ride to the NFL took on him:</p>
<p><iframe width="620" height="349" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jO68N0QfUVc#t=1m50s"></iframe></p>

Heartwarming Video Of An NFL Prospect Getting Drafted Six Months After A Gruesome Knee Injury

<p>Five months ago <keyword id="1744040" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marcus-Lattimore">Marcus Lattimore</keyword> s<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marcus-lattimore-injury-video-2012-10">uffered his second devastating knee injury in two years</a> in a game against Tennessee. Lattimore took the handoff left, got hit by two different players and flipped outside down. The hit tore three ligaments in his knee.</p>
<p>His calf was dangling off his leg in the wrong direction as he was carted off the field (graphic GIF below).</p>
<p>Today, incredibly, Lattimore worked out for 32 <keyword id="103436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFL">NFL</keyword> teams at South Carolina's Pro Day. The room broke into applause when he finished, <a href="https://twitter.com/GamecockFB/status/316933940533399552#">according to the school:</a></p>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:620px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51533c3f6bb3f7fb7100000f-870-488/marcus-lattimore-work-out.jpg?maxX=620" border="0" alt="marcus lattimore work out" width="620" /></div><p class="source"><a href="https://twitter.com/GamecockFB/status/316933940533399552">South Carolina Football</a></p></div></p>
<p>Lattimore said he'd be able to play in the opening part of the 2013 season, which seemed impossible after this happened: </p>
<p><table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51533cd169bedd845100000c/lattimore-injury.gif" border="0" alt="lattimore injury" /></div><p class="source"><a href="http://d3fsqtc6sy2z27.cloudfront.net/uploads/c59073dd08e15516785c79e230d7da20_large">SB Nation</a></p></td></tr></table></p>
<p>Lattimore was widely considered the best running back in the country two years ago. What happened to him with those two injuries was downright tragic. If he makes it to the NFL, it'll be one of the great comeback stories in sports.</p>
<p>Here's <a href="http://www.nfl.com/combine/story/0ap1000000143883/article/marcus-lattimore-hopeful-injuries-wont-jeopardize-nfl-career">what he told NFL Network</a> last month at the NFL Combine (which he did not participate in):</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>"It's a blessing to be here. I just think about guys who are less fortunate than me, guys who would kill to be in my shoes right now, even with the injury. That's what keeps me going, that's what keeps me motivated."</span></p>

South Carolina Football Player Works Out For NFL Scouts Just Five Months After A Gruesome Hit Mangled His Knee

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ae2836019ee8622008b4578-1822/gettyimages-927212668.jpg" border="0" alt="Marcus Davenport" data-mce-source="Michael Hickey/Getty Images"><p class="source"><span>Michael Hickey/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>The New Orleans Saints made a surprising trade up in the NFL Draft on Thursday to take defensive end Marcus Davenport.</strong></li><li><strong>They swapped first-round picks with the Green Bay Packers while sending a fifth-round and 2019 first-round pick to move up to the 14th pick.</strong></li><li><strong>Many in the NFL world were surprised by the haul the Saints traded to take a pass-rusher.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>The New Orleans Saints made a surprising trade with the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday to land defensive end Marcus Davenport.</br></p><p>The Saints sent their own first-round pick, a fifth-rounder, and their 2019 first-round pick to the Packers to move up from the 27th to the 14th pick.</p><p>Davenport, a 6-foot-6, 246-pound defensive end from University of Texas-San Antonio, was projected to go slightly later in the draft, but not by a much. A <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2018-nfl-mock-draft-consensus-first-round-2018-1">consensus mock draft</a> from experts had Davenport going 18th.</p><p>Many in the NFL world reacted with surprise by the amount the Saints traded to land Davenport.</p><p>As ESPN's Dan Graziano noted, the Saints may have won the draft last year by landing Marshon Lattimore and Alvin Kamara. With a stingy secondary, running back duo in Kamara and Mark Ingram, solid offensive line, and Drew Brees, the Saints decided to beef up their pass rush.</p><p>Nonetheless, the pressure is on Davenport to produce right away.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>No one beat up the draft worse than the Saints did last year, so I guess they deserve the benefit of the doubt. But that's a heck of a price to pay for the DE from San Antonio.</p>- Dan Graziano  (@DanGrazianoESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/989681245289435137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>That's really, really bold by the Saints to trade up that many picks to get Marcus Davenport. Like Davenport, but if that doesn't work out -- man, that'll set the Saints back a ways.</p>- Michael Rothstein  (@mikerothstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/989680844964057088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Marcus Davenport helped himself a lot at the combine..... but oh goodness. This is the first shock of the draft! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saints?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Saints</a> wow wow wow</p>- Jordan Schultz  (@Schultz_Report) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/989680791268585472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-referee-zach-zarba-basketball-official-job-athlete-2018-4">What it takes to be an NBA referee</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/xCtsvOY6-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

New Orleans Saints surprise NFL world by trading a haul to move up and take a pass-rusher

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5457cc85eab8ea5f58fd8a4d-1200-924/marcus-lattimore.jpg?maxX=600" border="0" alt="Marcus Lattimore" width="600"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div>Marcus Lattimore, who was once considered the top running back prospect in college football, is <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11813484/marcus-lattimore-san-francisco-49ers-retiring-due-knee-issues">weighing whether or not to retire from the NFL</a> without having ever played in a game. One ESPN source says Lattimore will indeed retire.</p>
<p>As a junior at the University of South Carolina in 2012, Lattimore suffered a devastating knee injury that tore every ligament in his right knee. That injury proved costly to Lattimore and shows just how much risk college football players are taking.</p>
<p>Prior to his injury, Lattimore was considered the top running back prospect in college football and was projected to be a first-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Instead, with the injured knee, Lattimore fell to the fourth round where he was taken by the San Francisco 49ers.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5457ce3deab8ea775ffd8a4d-1200-600/marcus-lattimore-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Marcus Lattimore"><p class="source"><span>Jeff Chiu/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Lattimore had recently started practicing with the 49ers but was still having issues with his surgically-repaired knee.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Prior to the injury, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8452756/2013-nfl-draft-mel-kiper-big-board-sees-geno-smith-enter-fray">ESPN.com had Lattimore ranked as the 21st best prospect</a> for the 2013 draft. Tight end Tyler Eifert was eventually taken as the 21st pick in the draft. He signed a 4-year, $8.3 million contract with a $4.4 million signing bonus and another $3.1 million in guaranteed salaries.</p>
<p>Instead, as a fourth-round pick, Lattimore was given a 4-year, $2.5 million contract with only $301,000 guaranteed.</p>
<p>Since Lattimore's injury did not happen while playing in the NFL, the 49ers were able to place the running back on the non-football injury list for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. This is important because it meant the 49ers were only obligated to pay Lattimore his $301,000 signing bonus and did not have to pay his $405,000 salary last year or his $420,000 salary this year.</p>
<p>Lattimore was eligible in college for insurance that would have paid him up to $5 million in the event of a career-ending injury but it is <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2012/10/29/marcus-lattimores-injury-could-spell-millions-in-lost-nfl-earnings/">unclear if he was enrolled in the program</a>. But even if he was enrolled at the maximum level, the injury still cost him millions and his NFL career.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5457ce9eecad04304dc30353-1200-600/marcus-lattimore-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Marcus Lattimore"><p class="source"><span>Richard Shiro/AP</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>

Running Back Once Destined For A Bright NFL Future Shows Just How Much College Football Players Are Risking

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b68b4069bedd2b11ce06b3-1200-924/ezekiel-elliott.jpg?maxX=620" border="0" alt="Ezekiel Elliott" width="620"><p class="source"><span>Tom Pennington/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Ezekiel Elliott may be ready for the NFL but he will have to wait.</p></img></div><p></p></div>Running back Ezekiel Elliott announced his presence with authority over the last month, rushing for 696 yards and scoring eight touchdowns combined in Ohio State's 3-game run to the national championship, starting with the Big Ten championship game.</p>
<p>The impressive showing has many believing Elliot has a bright future in the NFL.</p>
<p>But while players like teammate Cardale Jones are weighing whether or not to enter the NFL draft, Elliot cannot. To be eligible for the draft, a player must be three years removed from high school and Elliot is just a sophomore and cannot turn pro until the 2016 draft.</p>
<p>This has led some, <a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/13/ezekiel-elliott-should-shut-it-down-in-2015/">including Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com</a>, to say Elliot would be better off quiting college football and skipping the 2015 season to save himself for the 2016 NFL draft.</p>
<p>Whether or not Elliot would even want to skip his junior season is unknown. But the fact remains, as a running back, Elliot plays one of the most dangerous positions in a dangerous sport and the shelf-life for an NFL running back is very short.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b68b8269bedd5e12ce06b6-800-440/01-707.png" border="0" alt="NFL Careers chart"><p class="source"><span>BusinessInsider.com</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Florio compares Elliot's situation to that of former South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore who was projected to be a first-round pick before a devastating knee injury. Lattimore recently retired having never played in an NFL game.</p>
<p>Elliot can protect himself with insurance and recent changes to NCAA rules allow Ohio State to cover the cost of the insurance. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marcus-lattimore-retires-nfl-2014-11">Lattimore stands to collect $1.7 million from his policy, in addition to a $300,000 signing bonus</a> he got after being drafted. However, that pales in comparison to the $8.3 million contract he was projected to sign before the injury and the unfulfilled dream of playing professional football.</p>
<p>Clearly the NFL draft rule, designed to protect players, hurts those that are risking the most. It seems crazy, but for some players like Elliot, it may be better to just drop out and wait.</p>

Calls For Ohio State Running Back To Quit College Football Show How NFL's Draft Rule Hurts Certain Players

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560bf2fb9dd7cc21008be1ad-3807-2538/gettyimages-490144870.jpg" alt="Leonard Fournette" data-mce-source="Brett Carlsen/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Brett Carlsen/Getty</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Leonard Fournette is the most electrifying player in college football right now, and it's not even close.<p>Two weeks ago against Auburn, LSU's sophomore running back ran for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 19 carries - the most by a Tiger rusher in under 20 carries and the fifth most in program history.</p><p>The next week against Syracuse, he rushed for a career-high 244 yards, becoming the first player in LSU history to record back-to-back 200-yard games. He also had an 87-yard touchdown called back because of a false-start.&#xa0;</p><p>He's averaging video-game numbers: 210.3 yards per game, the most in the FBS by over 40 yards.&#xa0;These numbers alone are scary-good, and when you take&#xa0;a look at the actual highlights of some of these plays you start to get a better sense of just how unstoppable a force Fournette is. He seems to simultaneously have&#xa0;the speed and jukes of a speedy tailback, and the physicality to literally run defenders over&#xa0;a power back.&#xa0;</p><p>Out of high school, he was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/leonard-frounette-lsu-fresman-2014-7">hailed by LSU teammates as the next Adrian Peterson</a>, and after an up-and-down freshman campaign, Fournette has come into his own and then some.&#xa0;</p><p>Here he is dropping an Auburn defender en route to a 40-yard score.</p><p class="embed-spacer"><div><iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/eUltzAjtIJM/embed/simple?audio=0" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async="" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer">And this - just watch&#xa0;for yourself.</p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div><iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/ePBu6v5Fb9P/embed/simple?audio=0" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async="" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">At just 20-years-old, Fournette already looks ready to take on NFL defenses. According to long-time <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/sports/ncaafootball/only-thing-inleonard-fournettes-way-nfl-rule-book.html?_r=1">NFL scout Gil Brandt</a>, he's already a definite first round pick.</p><p class="embed-spacer">The problem is that, due to the archaic three-year rule, Fournette has&#xa0;to wait until after the 2017 season (his third year of NCAA eligibility) to declare for the draft. Fournette is on pace to have one of the best seasons in NCAA history and, as Brandt said, "is ready to play."</p><p class="embed-spacer">At the moment, Fournette's draft stock is already extremely high, but it could still grow this season.&#xa0;<a href="https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/no-one-can-stop-lsus-leonard-fournette-except-the-nfl-and-the-ncaa">Michael Weinreb posited the following hypothetical&#xa0;at Vice Sports</a>&#xa0;imagine&#xa0;Fournette wins the Heisman Trophy, breaks the all-time rushing records, and carries LSU to a National Championship? His&#xa0;draft stock couldn't possibly grow any higher and he'd have nothing left to prove at the college level. But with one more year before he can declare for the draft, should he sit out the year to protect himself and his value?&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560bfbbf9dd7cc19008be1e5-5760-3840/gettyimages-490155186.jpg" alt="Leonard Fournette" data-mce-source="Brett Carlsen/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Brett Carlsen/Getty</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p><a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/09/30/fournette-definitely-should-take-a-year-off-in-2016/">Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote</a> that&#xa0;he thinks Fournette should "definitely" take next season off&#xa0;unless the NFL changes its policies (which it won't) or the NCAA starts paying its players for their talents (which it won't). After all, the possibility of an injury could cost Fournette millions of dollars.&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer">The situation calls to mind the 2013 no. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney, who many thought should sit out the season for the same reasons as Fournette. Clowney ended up playing, but was frequently double- and triple-teamed and many speculated that he didn't&#xa0;exert&#xa0;himself fully&#xa0;to protect himself for the pros. Given Fournette's position and the fact that he's a workhorse back, another year with a ton of carries will also likely affect his legs in the longterm.</p><p class="embed-spacer">As Weinreb wrote, the NFL's three-year rule can be interpreted as an effort to preserve&#xa0;NCAA football and keep it as its own entity. The one-and-done rule in basketball has completely changed the landscape of college basketball, but it's hard to compare&#xa0;the leap from college to the pros in the two sports simply because the NFL is far more physical. By and large, three years is the right amount of&#xa0;time for college football players to grow physically and ready themselves for the pros. But there ought to be an exception - let's call it the Clowney Rule - that allows the special cases, the athletic freaks like Fournette, to go to the NFL after two years.&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer">Fans will call Fournette selfish if he doesn't play next season, and so he probably will. But here's another hypothetical: imagine he tears his ACL on the first play of scrimmage and never makes the pros. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marcus-lattimore-retires-nfl-2014-11">This happened to Marcus Lattimore just a few years ago</a>. Who, then, would be to blame, other than the NCAA for not paying its players, and the NFL for its archaic rule?&#xa0;</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/study-shows-nfl-players-have-brain-disease-cte-injury-concussion-helmet-2015-9">NEW RESEARCH: 96% of the brains in an NFL study tested positive for disease</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="0zd2xsdzqk0FM2shVYNft9zcaVZF7M1B" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '0zd2xsdzqk0FM2shVYNft9zcaVZF7M1B',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "Marcus Lattimore" and got 6 results

Heartwarming Video Of An NFL Prospect Getting Drafted Six Months After A Gruesome Knee Injury

Tony Manfred

South Carolina Football Player Works Out For NFL Scouts Just Five Months After A Gruesome Hit Mangled His Knee

Tony Manfred

New Orleans Saints surprise NFL world by trading a haul to move up and take a pass-rusher

Scott Davis

Running Back Once Destined For A Bright NFL Future Shows Just How Much College Football Players Are Risking

Cork Gaines

Calls For Ohio State Running Back To Quit College Football Show How NFL's Draft Rule Hurts Certain Players

Cork Gaines

Some are calling for LSU running back to quit college football because of NFL's archaic eligibility rule

Emmett Knowlton