NFL Combine 2013: Marcus Lattimore says doctors ‘will be shocked’ at progress so far

Defying the odds and finding success amidst adversity are what make any sports story great, and that's what makes former South Carolina Gamecocks running back Marcus Lattimore such an easy player to root for. In just a couple days, Lattimore will attend the 2013 NFL Combine and told a weekly University of South Carolina radio show, "Inside the Roost," on Monday that doctors "will be shocked, I can tell you that."

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Earlier in February, Lattimore told SB Nation that he intends to be ready to play when the NFL season kicks off Week 1 and had little doubt that he would recover from the injury to find success:

"I'm going to come back and be the first person ever to come back from what I had. It's going to be a great story and I'm going to have a great career."

To begin that great story and great career, first a team will have to be willing to roll the dice and take a chance on him. Lattimore will not be able to participate in any of the physical drills, but told "Inside the Roost" that he is scheduled to begin running on Monday.

On Monday, NFL Network analyst, Mike Mayock, told reporters during a conference call that he projects as a third-round selection due largely to his speedy recover thus far:

"(The combine is) important for him. People forget how important the medical piece is. The NFL is holding its breath to see where he is. I've heard he's way ahead of schedule. If he's ahead of schedule, that adds to his value. I think he goes somewhere in the third round."

The No. 62 player on Dan Kadar's player rankings for SB Nation and the third-rated running back, the goal for Lattimore isn't so much to be drafted ahead of the elite tier of players like North Carolina's Giovani Bernard or Alabama's Eddie Lacy, but to instead go ahead of the middle tier. He'll have to show scouts and talent evaluators that his talent and ceiling, regardless of injury, is too high to pass up and that teams should select him instead of guys like Johnathan Franklin, Joseph Randle or Andre Ellington.

Statistically, he performed at the level of his peers and has the 6-0, 218-pound frame that NFL scouts look for with a running back. The question is simply how his recovery has progressed and how much of a risk factor his knee will be in the future.

That's why, according to Brian McConchie of WACH FOX, Lattimore will be joined by Dr. James Andrews at the combine this weekend who will personally be on hand to speak with NFL personnel about the surgery and answer any questions regarding his recovery.