Lattimore Reflects on Beamer Hire and 10-Year Anniversary of SEC East Title
Ten years ago, the South Carolina football team broke through to clinch its first SEC Eastern Division crown since joining the conference in 1992. Led by freshman running back Marcus Lattimore, Head Coach Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks rolled past the Florida Gators 36-14 in “The Swamp” to earn their first trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship.
“We were a dominant team that believed in each other,” said Lattimore, who is now living in Oregon, and working as a life coach and working with running backs at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. “It changed the narrative when you look at South Carolina football. I’m humbled to be a part of it. It’s weird to think about sometimes, but it was a great time in my life.
“It was truly amazing to be a part of something that never happened before. We had a great team. We had a dominant team, on both sides of the ball. One thing that stands out was that when we stepped out on to the field, we absolutely believed that we could beat everybody that we played. We truly believed that we were better than the other team. That belief exuded confidence, and when you have a coach like Coach Spurrier, you’re always going to feel good about yourself when you step on the field.”
Newly hired head coach Shane Beamer was an assistant coach with the Gamecocks that year and served as the recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator, while also coaching spurs and strong safeties. Lattimore couldn’t be more thrilled that one of the architects of South Carolina’s success in the Spurrier era is leading the team now and noted a long list of attributes that he thinks will make Beamer a success as a head coach.
“His enthusiasm as a person. His passion for the game. His attention to detail when it comes those little things. All of those things are miniscule when it comes to what he’s going to bring as far as culture to our program,” Lattimore said. “He believes in developing men. He looks at them, and he sees a human being. Because of that, he makes you want to run through a brick wall.”
The Gamecocks finished the regular season with a 9-3 record and was a precursor to more greatness as South Carolina would follow that historic season with three straight 11-win seasons. South Carolina started the season with a 41-13 blowout of Southern Miss and then opened SEC play with a 17-6 victory over Georgia at Williams-Brice stadium behind Lattimore’s 182 rushing yards, and 7 catches for 103 yards from wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. After thumping Furman 38-19, the Gamecocks led 27-21 at No. 17 Auburn heading into the fourth quarter, but the eventual SEC and National Champions, led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton, rallied for a pair of touchdowns in the final period to win 35-27.
“When you look at the rosters of the teams in the SEC at the time, those guys are still playing in the NFL,” Lattimore said. “It didn’t matter what team we were playing, we played against very elite talent. It was a battle every single week. It was not easy. We believed, and that belief came from looking around at each other and the culture Coach Spurrier created. I absolutely appreciate that we got to that point because the guys we were playing against made it extremely difficult. I’ll never forget it.”
“If we needed to run the ball 60 times, I would have taken it!”
The Gamecocks rebounded with a win for the ages as No. 19 South Carolina stunned No. 1 Alabama at Williams-Brice, 35-21 with junior quarterback Stephen Garcia throwing three touchdown passes and Lattimore rushing for two more scores. The Gamecocks lost some momentum after squandering an 18-point halftime lead in a loss at Kentucky, but South Carolina followed with back-to-back wins over Vanderbilt and Tennessee to stay in the hunt for the division crown. The Gamecocks stumbled at home the next week in a loss to Arkansas, setting up the must-win scenario on Florida’s home turf. Although the game against the Gators didn’t start well, it got better as the Gamecocks rallied for their first-ever win in Gainesville.
“(Florida’s) Andre Debose took the opening kickoff 99 yards, so that honestly spooked us for a minute,” Lattimore said. “The place erupted. That was one of the loudest opposing stadiums I had ever heard. We didn’t flinch though. We knew we had weapons, and we had great coaches. It’s hard to lose confidence when you have Coach Spurrier as your head coach. He’s going to bring the juice! He would tell us how it is, and if he told us we could beat a team, we truly believed that.
“We were also dominant on the line of scrimmage. What sticks out about that game is that it was a great place to play. It was theatrical.”
The defense was anchored by players that are now household names with defensive backs Stephon Gilmore, Antonio Allen, and D.J. Swearinger, as well defensive end Devin Taylor. Make no mistake about it though, South Carolina’s big push on the offensive line with T.J. Johnson, Garret Chisholm, Rokevious Watkins, Hutch Eckerson and Kyle Nunn opened things up for the running game, and Lattimore shouldered the load with 212 yards on a school-record 40 carries.
“If I’m being completely honest, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Lattimore said with a laugh. “Going into that game, we knew the game plan was to run the ball and impose our will, and that’s what we did. It was a lot of fun.
“In a game like that, it’s an out of body experience. You’re in a trance-like state. You don’t feel a lot of pain, and your energy levels don’t go down. You’re running on adrenaline and reacting and trusting what’s going on with the play calling. I didn’t want a break. If we needed to run the ball 60 times, I would have taken it!”
Lattimore bulled his way for three scores, while Garcia ran for another in the 36-14 win that would send the Gamecocks to Atlanta for the SEC Championship.*
“After the game, there wasn’t one person who wasn’t smiling. We were all excited that we actually accomplished this,” Lattimore said. “It was storybook. I couldn’t ask for a better experience in my freshman year.
“We had a lot of senior leadership. It wasn’t easy stringing together all those wins that we had. Clinching the (SEC) East, and that time in life, seems forever ago. Clips from that season will show up on my (social media) timeline, and it brings back so many memories, and so many good times with the guys on the field. Those are lifelong relationships. They’re brothers. I’ll cherish those relationships forever because of what we accomplished together.”
As the Shane Beamer era begins for the Gamecocks, Lattimore is on board.
“I’m just excited for the future. Go Cocks! Let’s go baby!”
