INDIANAPOLIS — When Marshon Lattimore sat down in the Ohio State locker room last fall and took off his shoulder pads, he came to the realization he did something for the first time in his college career. He made it out of fall camp healthy.
“The previous two years, I didn't make it through three days of practice,” Lattimore said on Sunday at the 2017 NFL Combine. “Just to make it through the whole camp, I knew I had hopes of a good season.”
Lattimore missed the 2014 season with a torn hamstring, which happened shortly after he got to campus. Surgery resulted in a redshirt his freshman year and the problem never really went away until last summer.
He played sparingly in 2015, appearing in six games and making four tackles but admittedly wasn't 100 percent. Finally, Ohio State shut him down again when the calendar flipped to November. Frustrations settled in — how could they not? — for the Glenville star turned Buckeye who had yet to make an impact on the field. Lattimore said it was always his dream to continue that pipeline from Ted Ginn Sr.'s program to Columbus. So having to sit and wait for his body to cooperate wasn't easy.
“I got the confidence that I'm one of the best. I had to get healthy though to show that I'm one of the best. That's what I did this year.”– Marshon Lattimore
“It was frustrating but I talked to all the coaches, they told me I have a bright future so just stick with it,” he said. “I talked to my parents a lot about it. They always kept me up, made me laugh, got me off of being hurt or injured or whatever.”
Yoga and extra strengthening exercises ensued for Lattimore ahead of the 2016 season and ultimately paid dividends. He made it through camp and earned a starting spot alongside Denzel Ward and opposite Gareon Conley. By season's end, though, Lattimore had established himself as one of the premier players in the country at his position.
He recorded 41 tackles in 2016, picked off four passes and returned one for a touchdown against Tulsa in the second game of the season. Ohio State's defensive backfield shut down opposing passing games all year. Lattimore's rise was an essential reason why.
Now he is considered a lock to be a first-round pick and potentially the first Buckeye to come off the board in next month's draft. Scouts drool over his pure athleticism, size and speed, plus the potential of a body that hasn't taken too many hits on the field.
“I've studied the top cornerbacks coming out and he's the best I've seen,” one AFC scout told NFL.com. “He's so athletic that he can just post up under the receiver's chin and shadow him all over the field. And he's tough, too. He'll be one of the top cornerbacks pretty quickly.”
As long as those hamstrings hold up. And the questions about them from teams won't stop.
“That's the first thing they ask me about. 'How are your hamstrings? Tell me about your hamstring situation.' But I'm 100 percent fine right now,” Lattimore said.
It makes sense. If a team is going to use a top-5 pick on someone with injury history, they want to know if the prospect is beyond the issues. Lattimore left Ohio State after only really playing a key role as a redshirt sophomore.
His rise was as rapid as it was unforeseen. Malik Hooker did something similar at safety and could join Lattimore in the top-10.
Whether that happens remains to be seen. For now, Lattimore is trying to enjoy the process of being at the Combine and living his dream. He has stayed close with former Buckeye Eli Apple, who the New York Giants took 10th overall last year as a redshirt sophomore. Picking his brain has helped him get ready for anything and everything teams could throw at him to ensure he should be a top pick in the draft.
After all, he didn't know if his body would allow it. The growth of his game is staggering.
“I just talked about that with some of my friends. Time is flying. I feel like there are two weeks in a month with how fast the time is going,” Lattimore said. “I'm here and I'm ready for it now, so. This is my dream to get here. I'm here. I have to prove myself.
“I got the confidence that I'm one of the best. I had to get healthy though to show that I'm one of the best. That's what I did this year.”
