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Tuesday afternoon, ESPN aired the latest edition of Jon Gruden's QB camp, and this time they looked at a non-QB. Gruden sat down with South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore, and we got a rather entertaining half hour of football talk. Check your ESPN listings for repeats because you definitely want to check it out. I've embedded a few minutes of video below from the session.
We've had discussions before about Marcus Lattimore, as he has developed into a favorable draft crush for many. Drafting Lattimore provides the 49ers with a variety of options. You could argue the most favorable is placing him on the PUP list and letting him basically go through a medical red-shirt year, of sorts. It does not cost the team a spot on the 53-man roster, and it gives him some time to get his knee to 100%. And getting a chance to learn from Frank Gore is not a bad thing. Gore has established himself as one of the best running backs in 49ers history, and also has dealt with the medical issues Lattimore has dealt with the last couple years.
Of course, if Lattimore has it his way, he will be ready to go for this season. He came across as extremely motivated, which is not surprising considering he already came back from a left knee ACL tear. It is only a half hour of television, but it is easy to get excited about Lattimore's drive.
I tweeted during the show, so here are a few tweets with some of the comments:
Gruden to Lattimore: "Aren't you glad you came down to see me? I'm showing you getting your ass knocked off like that."
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) April 9, 2013
Lattimore: "My story relates to everybody sitting watching this right now. Somebody's gonna go through adversity ...
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) April 9, 2013
Lattimore: … It's gonna be how you get back up from it"
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) April 9, 2013
Lattimore: You reach a point where the knee is healed. It's all mental at that point. Gotta be strong minded to come back
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) April 9, 2013
Lattimore on whether he'll be able to practice (w/knee issue): "I love practice because it makes me better. I love getting better."
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) April 9, 2013
Two of my favorite comments from Gruden:
Gruden: My dad said take Frank Gore out of Miami in the first round
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) April 9, 2013
Gruden: I'm on the bus after a game Gore busted a big run, my dad said, "You're a dumbass for not taking Gore"
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) April 9, 2013