Marcus Lattimore Marcus Lattimore ( born October 29 , 1991 ) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . Lattimore played college football for the University of South Carolina . The San Francisco 49ers chose him in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft . Early years . Lattimore was born in Duncan , South Carolina . He attended James F . Byrnes High School in Duncan , and played high school football for the Byrnes Rebels . One of the most decorated players in South Carolina high school football history , Lattimore was " ESPN RISE " National High School Junior Football Player of the Year in 2008 . In his senior year , he earned " USA Today " high school All - American honors and was named South Carolina ' s Mr . Football . He chose South Carolina over Auburn on National Signing Day . College career . Lattimore enrolled in the University of South Carolina , where he played for coach Steve Spurrier ' s South Carolina Gamecocks football team from 2010 to 2012 . A highly sought - after college recruit , he made an immediate impact for the Gamecocks as a freshman . 2010 . On September 11 , 2010 , in just his second career college football game , Lattimore broke 42 tackles on 37 carries , rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns against the Georgia Bulldogs . On October 9 , 2010 , against the then # 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide , Lattimore had 23 carries for 93 yards , two rushing touchdowns , and caught one receiving touchdown from quarterback Stephen Garcia . On October 16 , 2010 , Lattimore scored two touchdowns in a road loss to the Kentucky Wildcats before missing the rest of the game with an ankle injury . On October 30 , 2010 , against the Tennessee Volunteers , Lattimore had 29 carries for 184 yards and one rushing touchdown . On November 13 , 2010 against the Florida Gators in Gainesville , Lattimore had 40 carries for 212 yards and three rushing touchdowns , to defeat the Gators and clinch the SEC East for the Gamecocks . On December 4 , 2010 in the 2010 SEC Championship Game , Lattimore had 16 carries for 84 yards for the Gamecocks in the 56 - 17 loss to the Auburn Tigers . In December 2010 , Lattimore was named the NCAA Freshman of the Year , headlining the All - Freshman Team , by " The Sporting News " . On December 31 , 2010 , in the 2010 Chick - fil - A Bowl , Lattimore had one carry that went for a one yard loss and caught three passes for 48 yards , before getting a concussion in the first quarter on a pass reception in which he lost a fumble in a 26 - 17 loss to Florida State . 2011 . South Carolina began their 2011 season at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on September 3 , 2011 against East Carolina . He rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries and added three touchdowns as the Gamecocks battled back to win 56 - 37 . Lattimore also caught three passes for 33 yards . The Gamecocks traveled to Athens on September 10 to play SEC East rivals Georgia . Lattimore carried the ball on 27 occasions for 176 yards and one touchdown . South Carolina then played a home game against the Naval Academy , and in a 24 - 21 game Lattimore set a new school record for 246 yards , more than Heisman Trophy winner and former Gamecock George Rogers ever ran for , and also scored three touchdowns in the game . The following weekend , South Carolina played host to SEC East foe Vanderbilt . Lattimore had his first sub - 100 yard rushing game of the season , running for just 77 yards on 20 carries but was able to add a 22 yard touchdown . He also caught three passes for 73 yards , scoring on a 52 - yard reception , leading his team to a 21 - 3 win and a 4 - 0 start . He tore a knee ligament on October 15 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and it was announced that Lattimore would miss the remainder of the 2011 season due to the injury . 2012 . In Lattimore ' s first game back following his knee ligament injury , he rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries as the Gamecocks topped Vanderbilt 17 - 13 . In the Gamecock ' s 49 - 6 victory over UAB on September 15 , Lattimore rushed for 85 yards and one touchdown , his 34th touchdown at Carolina , surpassing George Rogers school record of 33 career touchdowns . Lattimore turned in his best performance of the season against Kentucky , rushing for 120 yards and two touchdowns in a 38 - 17 win on September 29 . On October 6 , the Gamecocks played host to the Georgia Bulldogs in a top ten showdown that ESPN College Gameday was in town for . Lattimore ran for 109 yards and a score as the Gamecocks crushed # 5 Georgia 35 - 7 and posted two school records , three straight wins over Georgia and ten straight victories in all . On October 27 , Lattimore suffered an injury to his right leg against the Tennessee Volunteers . Lattimore fumbled on the play and the Tennessee Volunteers recovered the fumble and returned it for a touchdown . The fumble was not called and the play was not review by officials due to the reaction of both teams to the injury . Lattimore was carted off the field while both teams joined together , giving him their best wishes . Citing unnamed sources , " CBS Sports " reported that Lattimore is believed to have suffered injuries similar to those suffered by Willis McGahee in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl ( torn ACL , PCL , and MCL ) . South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier has since stated that Lattimore had dislocated his right knee against Tennessee , and that the injury is something that Lattimore can recover from to play football again . Lattimore ' s knee damages were repaired by James Andrews . On December 10 , Lattimore declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft . Professional Career . On December 12 , 2012 , Lattimore confirmed in a press conference that he would enter the 2013 NFL Draft . On April 27 , 2013 , he was drafted in the fourth round , with the 131st overall pick , by the San Francisco 49ers . On May 31 , 2013 , the San Francisco 49ers signed Lattimore to a 4 - year deal .