Spurrier wants Marcus Lattimore to stop talking about the Heisman
Marcus Lattimore hasn't been shy about talking about his desire to win the Heisman this season.
During SEC media days last month, the sophomore running back from South Carolina stated plainly that after rushing for 1,197 yards and 19 touchdowns a year ago, he knew he needed to do more to get to New York.
"Get more yards than I had last year," Lattimore said. "Get more touchdowns. I want to win the Heisman."
However, since his initial comments about the bronze statue in July, Lattimore hasn't shut up about it and now coach Steve Spurrier wants him to stop.
In all fairness to Lattimore, the media has continued to ask about it especially after BoDog gave him 7-to-1 odds to win.
"We don't talk about individual awards," Spurrier said. "That'd be like me coming up to you guys and being like, 'Man, I want to win national coach of the year this year.' Coaches don't talk about that. Players don't talk about individual awards. What's happened is people keep asking him about it and there's nothing wrong with him wanting to win it, we all would love to see him win it. But during the season, we don't talk about individual awards, we talk about team awards and he knows that."
Can't blame Lattimore for dreaming big. He was third in rushing in the SEC and the top rusher, former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, won the Heisman. The No. 2 rusher, Arkansas' Knile Davis, will miss the rest of the season with a left ankle injury, leaving the path open for Lattimore to make his move.
Lattimore would be just the second South Carolina player to win the Heisman; running back George Rogers won the trophy in 1980. He'd also be just the fourth sophomore to win it — but also the fourth in five years, after former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in 2007, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford in 2008 and Alabama running back Mark Ingram in 2009.
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