The South Carolina Gamecocks beat Mississippi State last week but in the process they lost their “workhorse” in Marcus Lattimore.
Lattimore was injured while blocking for Bruce Ellington in the fourth quarter. A Mississippi State defender, diving for Ellington, rolled into Lattimore as he had his left leg planted firmly in the ground. As soon as you saw it, you knew it was not going to be good. Now Lattimore awaits surgery on that left knee due to ligament damage. He officially concludes his sophomore season with 818 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He also had 19 receptions for 182 yards and one touchdown.
Safe to say, Marcus Lattimore is someone you don’t replace as he was a one-of-a-kind running back and on top of that a leader in the locker room. He will still be looked to for leadership but a suitable back-up has to be found going into the second half of the schedule. Luckily, the Gamecocks have a bye week to adjust the offensive scheme before the battle Tennessee on October 29th. The Gamecocks are 6-1 and 4-1 in the SEC. In order to claim the SEC East, they have to have a running back to step up in the absence of Lattimore.
When looking at what is behind Lattimore, you have to realize the guy slated as the back-up entering the season, Shon Carson, tore his ACL on his only carry of the Georgia game.
So here are the options at running back for the rest of the season:
Brandon Wilds (6’1” 225lbs)
2011 statistics: 13 carries, 75 yards, 5.8 ypc. 3 catches, 21 yards.
This freshman running back is a much like Lattimore in size and frame. He needs to work on blocking and fully understanding the offense but he has good speed and good hands.
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Kenny Miles (5’10” 185lbs)
Career Statistics: 148 carries, 779 yards, 5.2 ypc; 24 receptions, 152 yards.
He is a junior and considered a veteran but has battled injuries in 2011. This season, he has just one carry for one yard. He has shown flashes of being a great running back but consistency is his biggest issue.
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Eric Baker (5’10” 185lbs)
Career Statistics: 51 carries, 207 yards, 4.3 ypc; 11 receptions, 118 yards.
Another junior tailback that has been bitten by the injury bug way too many times in his career. He entered USC with so much hope but has yet to be truly productive. For 2011, he has just three carries for three yards. He might not see playing time against UT due to an injury.
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Josh Hinch (5’7″ 180lbs)
Career Statistics: 0
Hinch, a walk on, might make his college debut in his hometown of Knoxville, TN. Hinch lettered in football and track at MidAmerica Nazarene College an NAIA school in 2008. Hinch is a redshirt senior that enrolled at USC in 2009 but has not seen any real game playing time.
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Bruce Ellington (5’9” 200lbs)
Career Statistics: 11 carries, 91 yards, completed 2 of 3 passes for 24 yards, caught 12 passes for 129 yards and returned 11 kickoffs for 244 yards. Ellington is second on the team with 644 all-purpose yards.
Ellington is a redshirt freshman and is very diverse as a football player. He is what you can coin – a big play threat. He play quarterback in high school and can do it all. He can score from anywhere on the field, just needs the ball in space to create. He has been used in the ‘wildcat’ this season and may see more of it due to the loss of Lattimore or simply see him as the running back. Only blemish is his ability to face the wear and tear of an every down back and if he can pick up the blocks.
Well there you have it. Who will emerge to be the rusher USC needs to get back to Atlanta?
