Marcus Lattimore critical of South Carolina's strength program
Former South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore spoke to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics Tuesday and leveled some serious crticisms at his alma mater’s strength and conditioning program.
According to tweets by Jon Solomon of CBS, Lattimore raised issues with players getting injured in the weight room, how strength coaches are hired and the trustworthiness of sports psychologists employed by the school.
Marcus Lattimore says he and other players questioned some of the strength and conditioning program in college.
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomonCBS) May 10, 2016
Lattimore: 9 of 15 players he spoke with got injured in weight room. He wonders if some injuries could be prevented with better hires.
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomonCBS) May 10, 2016
Lattimore says he was told some strength and conditioning coaches were hired due to their connection to the head coach.
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomonCBS) May 10, 2016
Marcus Lattimore said after his injury he didn't feel comfortable "whatsoever" talking to a sports psychologist who was part of SC's team.
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomonCBS) May 10, 2016
Lattimore said he might have felt more comfortable if he spoke to a sports psychologist who was independent of Gamecocks football team.
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomonCBS) May 10, 2016
It’s unlikely any changes with strength program hires or sports psychologists will occur overnight, but Lattimore has credibility on injury issues. At South Carolina, he suffered season-ending knee injuries in the 2011 and ’12 seasons (both occurring on the field).
During Lattimore’s career at South Carolina, the strength and condition program was run by Craig Fitzgerald and Joe Connolly. Fitzgerald is now with the Houston Texans, which suggests he has better credentials for the job than simply being a friend of Steve Spurrier, Lattimore’s head coach at South Carolina. Connolly, who was hired by UMass in January, has prior strength training experience at Harvard and Louisville.
Lattimore recently graduated from South Carolina and is joining the Heathwood Hall Episcopal School (Columbia, S.C.) coaching staff as an assistant.