Harbaugh heaps high praise on Marcus Lattimore

Marcus Lattimore was with San Francisco just shy of two years, but it didn’t take him long to make a lasting impression on his head coach.

Former 49ers Jim Harbaugh, who’s now at Michigan and will coach against South Carolina Monday, had nothing but nice things to say about his former running back.

“He’s just a good, genuine down to earth person, a hard worker. He gave it everything he had to come back from that brutal knee injury. But he was always positive,” Harbaugh said. “He was always upbeat and found the good in things. He never complained. He had some real virtues and I know that he’ll be great after football.”

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Lattimore had a breakout freshman season at South Carolina before two devastating knee injuries put a wet blanket on his playing career.

He was picked in the fourth round of the 2013 draft by Harbaugh and the 49ers, but his knees weren’t at the level they needed to be for a pro back and he retired in 2014 just 20 months after being signed.

It was no fault of Lattimore’s, who did his best to come back from both injuries, each on a different knee, but a professional career wasn’t in the cards.

He never carried the ball in a game.

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But it wasn’t for lack of trying, and that’s something that’s always stuck with Harbaugh almost three years later.

“I understood, really,” he said. “There have been guys that string it out and blame it on somebody else or the doctors. Not him. He’s just a forthright, honest and appreciative. WE were too because he gave it everything he had.”

To Lattimore’s credit, he’s made a pretty big name for himself after retiring from his brief stint professionally.

Not only does he have numerous sponsorship deals, but he’s making a name for himself as a prominent high school football coach.

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After a year as Heathwood Hall’s middle school head coach and varsity assistant, he was promoted to head varsity coach this season and had a pretty successful inaugural season.

So after a long and arduous year or so of NFL football, Harbaugh’s not surprised to see Lattimore, who he called a stand-up human, doing well after his playing days.

“I can look back on his football career and know he gave it everything he had and therefore he could feel good about what he accomplished,” he said. “He had a history of always doing the right thing. He’s a great example of somebody that didn’t get bored doing the right thing. It just speaks volumes about who he is as a person.”