Allow me to introduce you to K-Latt.

Some fans may know him as Keon Lattimore, the running back who started twice last year and ranked 11th in the ACC in rushing, but missed most of the spring with back and shoulder injuries.

Lattimore returned to Byrd Stadium Saturday a new man. The team voted him co-captain in an overwhelming landslide in the off-season, and with his rehabilitated body and senior leader mentality, he showed off his stuff.

The Owings Mills native ran for three touchdowns on 106 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark in his time as a Terrapin, and he also added 33 receiving yards to his stellar performance in the Terps’ 31-14 win over Villanova. Last season, Lattimore hit the 100-yard plateau just twice.

But after trying to dream up a fitting nickname for him throughout the entire second half, my miserable plays on words and futile attempts at creativity were severely lacking. “Neon Keon,” “The K-Train,” “Latti-most” and “The Lattinator” just weren’t going to cut it.

When I talked to him after the game, I quickly discovered that my brainstorming efforts were all for naught. With a quick flash of the tattoo that dominates his right forearm, I learned that he already has an alias that suits him and his work on the field just fine: K-Latt.

“I definitely take pride in people calling me K-Latt,” he said. “It’s a name that stuck with me since high school and it kind of carried over. It’s my name.”

But it’s more than just that.

K-Latt is the half-brother of feared NFL linebacker Ray Lewis, with whom he worked out all summer to improve his core strength and endurance. K-Latt is the powerful back who dragged, plowed through and ran over multiple Villanova defenders en route to his three end-zone rushes of 12, 14 and 18 yards Saturday. And K-Latt pairs with Lance Ball to compose one of the best running back duos in the ACC.

“I think he’s hungry,” Terp head coach Ralph Friedgen said. “It’s his last chance, and I think he’s faster than what he was and he’s in great shape. I thought he ran harder than I’ve ever seen him run here. Some of those touchdowns were just determination to get the ball into the end zone.”

Villanova isn’t a true test of what opposing defenses will throw at K-Latt this season, as it plays in Division I-AA. Excuse me – it plays in the newly-renamed Division I Football Championship Subdivision, which is so ridiculous it needs no further mention.

Either way, K-Latt’s surges over linebackers and safeties Saturday in his red-and-white No. 21 shirt mirrored his numerical counterpart on the San Diego Chargers. I’m not thrusting K-Latt onto the pedestal with 2006 NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, but watch the replays. He shows flashes.

“You know what? Hard work don’t go unnoticed, that’s what everybody says,” K-Latt said. “I know how hard I work and I’ve got a pretty good work ethic. My whole goal is to never let no one outwork me. So for everyone else that doubted me, that’s their fault and that’s their opinion. But I always have a great deal of confidence in myself.”

His confidence and swagger are both things the Terps’ offense will rely on this season, and his prowess with the ball rubs off on other players who need it most. Quarterback Jordan Steffy made his first collegiate start Saturday, and said K-Latt took a great deal of pressure off him and helped him settle in and complete an outstanding game.

“I’m a leader on this team,” K-Latt said. “I’m a senior and we’re a hard-nosed running team. Whenever the coach calls my number, I feel like I have to show up and produce.”

Keep producing, keep making people miss, keep pounding and keep K-Latt-ing. He looked so good Saturday, it’s a verb, too.

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