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Marcus Lattimore will leave South Carolina a year early and enter the 2013 NFL Draft, according to Joe Schad at ESPN. Lattimore's official announcement will likely come this week.
Lattimore will hope to prove to scouts that he'll be able to return from a gruesome injury suffered Oct. 27 against Tennessee. Lattimore's ACL and LCL were damaged and required surgery, which was successful, as he's now walking without the use of crutches, but he's been out for South Carolina's last three games, will miss the Outback Bowl against Michigan, and likely won't be able to fully participate in the draft combine. In fact, he might not be available to play in 2013 if drafted as he recovers from the major injury.
Lattimore had previously torn a knee ligament ending his sophomore season, but was clearly good to go for 2012 as he scored 11 touchdowns in nine games on 4.6 yards per carry. Injuries have prevented him from repeating the success of his freshman campaign, when he took the SEC by storm with 1,198 yards and 17 touchdowns.
This story originally appeared at SB Nation.