The accolades keep pouring in for Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore, who can now add a CBS Freshman of the Year Award to his resume. If Lattimore keeps improving his game--and his work ethic suggests he will--he could be well on his way to becoming the most decorated player in Carolina history.
The news isn't only great for our young star; it's also good for Carolina football in general. It wasn't long ago when Lane Kiffin told Alshon Jeffery that Jeffery would end up pumping gas if he went to Carolina. While it's easy to laugh off what Kiffin said, Kifin had good reason for saying that. You have to believe that talented players have long viewed Carolina as a risky choice because of its history and its inability to produce many individual stars. High school players want to go somewhere where they can make a name for themselves; why go to Carolina when you can go to another school that has produced guys that won numerous awards en route to the NFL? Kiffin was playing to what he viewed as Jeffery's fears when he made the comment about pumping gas, and I'll bet that in many cases, that kind of recruiting tactic has worked for our rivals. Luckily, though, Jeffery and other players, Lattimore foremost among them, came to Carolina, and now they're bringing home some hardware. When you've got stars like these making the national headlines and winning major awards, it makes it a lot easier to recruit.
Mr. Clowney, I hope you're watching. When Lattimore graduates to competing for the Heisman next year, it'll be your turn to win Freshman of the Year.