Coach Steve Spurrier, President Harris Pastides and mobs of other fans came out Monday to support injured running back Marcus Lattimore
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Steve Spurrier brought tidings from Marcus Lattimore to the hundreds gathered on the Horseshoe.
“Tell ’em I’ll be back.”
The massive crowd of fans in attendance at the quickly organized “get well”-and-21st-birthday party for the Gamecocks’ star tailback erupted at the statement.
They’d cringed as Lattimore was carted off the field in Saturday’s game against Tennessee, done for the season with a gruesome-looking dislocated knee and injury to several ligaments.
So, Monday, they cheered as Spurrier told them he would likely be back for another season.
The public rally on the Horseshoe Monday night was USC President Harris Pastides’ doing, organized with the help of Student Government and live-streamed to Lattimore in the hospital.
More than 20 tri-fold poster boards set up on tables at the rally were filled with messages from students, faculty, alumni and other Gamecock fans wishing Lattimore a speedy recovery and a happy birthday.
Pastides, Spurrier, Student Body President Kenny Tracy, S.C. Senator Lindsey Graham, football team chaplain Adrian Despres and teammates Dylan Thompson and Kenny Miles all spoke to the crowd that Pastides said was one of the biggest he’d seen at the university this year.
“There were more people here than for my state of the university address on Sept. 19,” he said. “I don’t know that we could do this again, but for a person like Marcus Lattimore.”
Tracy started the rally by listing some of the notable people who had already voiced their support for Lattimore, including Darius Rucker, LeBron James and Lee Corso.
When Pastides took the stage, he listed some of Lattimore’s athletic and personal accomplishments and told the crowd that even United States Vice President Joe Biden was following Lattimore’s recovery and wished the tailback a happy birthday.
Graham spoke next, saying he had never been more proud to be a Gamecock. He held a letter from a delegation of both Republicans and Democrats, praising Lattimore and wishing him a speedy recovery.
Despres read a text message from Lattimore that promised the Duncan native would “fight to get better” and then led the audience in a prayer.
Spurrier said even rival Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had complimented Lattimore’s character. He seemed unable to resist taking a jab at Swinney; the two have sparred in their comments back and forth consistently for years.
“A lot of quotes came across from the nation and I read one today from the head coach at our Upstate school, you know that school that used to beat us a lot that doesn’t beat us much anymore? That one,” Spurrier said. “Anyway, usually when that coach up there talks about South Carolina it’s a bunch of garbage, a bunch of B.S., usually. But I have to agree with him — I have to agree with him on what he said the other day. He said Marcus Lattimore stands for what’s right about college football.” (Swinney responded in his weekly call-in show later Monday that he was “embarrassed” for Spurrier.)
Spurrier went on to call Lattimore “the most popular football player that’s ever played here at South Carolina” and “a touchdown-scoring machine,” to cheers from the audience. He also read a proclamation from Gov. Nikki Haley designating Monday as “Marcus Lattimore Day” throughout the state, which he then gave to Ebony, Marcus Lattimore’s sister.
Tailback Kenny Miles and backup quarterback Dylan Thompson both emphasized Lattimore’s leadership ability.
“Being one of his teammates and being around him for the last three years, I’ve really learned what being a true team leader is and having the respect of thousands, if not millions,” Miles said. “I’ve never met somebody greater than him.”
“You never meet anyone that says they dislike Marcus Lattimore, and that basically sums it up,” Thompson said.
Despres let the crowd in on a few football team traditions — singing happy birthday to each player in different, and often silly, voices and then hugging one another afterward. Today, he said, he wanted everyone to sing in their loudest and best voices for Lattimore.
And they did.