Sept. 19, 2011

University of South Carolina sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore has been selected as the SEC’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week, the SEC office announced today.

Lattimore, a six-foot, 232-pounder from Duncan, S.C., rushed for a career-high 246 yards on 37 carries in the Gamecocks’ 24-21 win over Navy. It was the fourth-best single-game rushing performance in school history, just 32 yards shy of the record. He also tied his career high with three rushing touchdowns in the game. It was his second career 200-yard game and the seventh 100-yard game of his career, including his third in as many games this season. He shared the Offensive Player of the Week honors with Florida running back Chris Rainey.

Lattimore was also selected as the National and SEC Player of the Week by Rivals.com and was on the Honorable Mention list by CollegeFootballPerformance.com.

Lattimore becomes the third Gamecock to be honored in as many weeks by the SEC. Offensive tackle Rokevious Watkins earned Offensive Lineman of the Week accolades for his performance in the season opener against East Carolina, and Melvin Ingram was named the Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts against Georgia in week 2.

Lattimore and his Gamecock teammates are back on the practice fields tonight at 7 pm in preparation for Saturday’s SEC showdown with Vanderbilt (3-0, 1-0 SEC). South Carolina (3-0, 1-0 SEC) is ranked 12th in the country this week by the Associated Press and is 10th in the USA Today/Coaches poll.

Saturday’s contest will be televised nationally by ESPN2. Mark Neely will handle the play-by-play and Ray Bentley will provide the color commentary.