Lattimore Stays Home

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In front of friends, family, and fans counting nearly 500 to watch, Marcus Lattimore announced he will play football for Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks over Auburn.

Ranked as the nation's top running back prospect according to Scout.com, the Byrnes (S.C.) High School student-athlete had former NFL standout Stephen Davis help with the announcement.

Davis, who played running back in high school in the same town and went on to star at Auburn, caused quite a stir when he handed Lattimore an Auburn hat as part of the announcement. However, Lattimore sat that hat aside to show the South Carolina hat underneath and declared his intention to sign with the Gamecocks on Wednesday.

"After all the camps I went to, the unofficial visits, and official visits, I found a place for me," said Lattimore. "That's the best fit for me; that's where my heart is."

Lattimore joked about South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier doing the "Cha-Cha Dance" with his mother as part of the family feeling he got while on an official visit in Columbia.

Lattimore works on Gamecock signs

Lattimore also sought out the support of Davis, who found similar decisions to make when coming out of high school.

"He reminded me to go with my gut feeling and to go with your heart," Lattimore added. "He knew when he went to Auburn that is where he wanted to go since that is where his heart was and his gut feeling was at. So I took his advice and ran with it."

According to Lattimore, his heart was leading him towards Auburn as recently as two weeks ago when he stated publically that the Tigers were in first place.

"I knew I had a great opportunity to go in there and play early and they had great offensive line, and they were telling me everything I wanted to hear. Auburn is a great school, it just wasn't the right fit for me. I enjoyed it every time I went down there. I love every coach down there."

It was Lattimore's official visit to South Carolina where he felt more at-home than ever with the new South Carolina assistant coaches, and that bond continued to grow up until Monday night when he called Steve Spurrier to commit.

"I told him last night, and he was real fired up. He said 'alright my man' and 'we're ready'," said Lattimore laughing.

Citing South Carolina commitments in attendance like Kelcy Quarles, Dylan Thompson, and Nick Jones, Lattimore said he is just a piece of the puzzle to help the team win.

"I'm a great fit for that offense, because I am a great receiver out of the backfield and [Spurrier] likes to run the ball. They know my skills, they know what I can do, but I was never guaranteed the starting spot. I know that I have to work hard, and I think that if I work hard enough I can get on the field in the first game."

With the commitment behind him, Lattimore said he felt fifty pounds lighter with the weight of recruiting off his back and he has something else now to work towards.

"There is only one goal in my mind, and that is to beat Southern Miss in our first game."