Update: USC's Marcus Lattimore now a Forty-Niner

This story has been updated with press conference quotes from Lattimore and 49ers' coach Jim Harbaugh.

Marcus Lattimore is now a San Francisco 49er.

The former star USC running back was taken as the 131st overall pick in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.

Lattimore is the first player out of Byrnes High School to have ever been drafted by an NFL team.

Once a predicted first-rounder, many were wondering whether Lattimore might get drafted at all after a devastating knee injury this past season against Tennessee, his second in the past two years.

By all accounts, Lattimore has made an incredible recovery, saying that he would be ready to play by the start of the upcoming NFL season. However, San Francisco most likely will sit Lattimore his rookie season to let him fully heal and strengthen.

''It's still surreal to me,'' Lattimore said Saturday in a press conference. ''This is a great opportunity with a great organization and I just can't wait to get there. I'm so excited I get to work with all the great running backs and everybody on that team and be a part of that running backs family.''

Lattimore said hard work, a succesful surgery, and the amazing outpouring of love and support from fans and fellow athletes, especially those who also suffered terrible injuries, helped put him in a position to continue his football career when all once looked bleak.

'Right after it happened, I doubted myself and I lost hope,'' Lattimore said. ''But I got a chance to talk to [49ers' running back] Frank Gore, I got a chance to talk to [Denver Bronco running back] Willis McGahee, and I realized everything happens for a reason. (Gore) knew he could come back from what he had and he worked hard and was determined. He told me to keep that positive mindset, and that's what I've been doing these past five, six months.''

The 49ers' pick was considered a gamble, but head coach Jim Harbaugh believes Lattimore still has plenty of great football left in him.

"Unique player, unique person," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Can't say enough about his mental toughness. … We're betting that his physical athleticism, his approach, his attitude, his work ethic – that he'll be able to overcome the setbacks he had last fall."

Harbaugh added: ''I love the aggressive mental approach he has taken through this whole process, but we're going to slow down the aggressive physical things and make sure Marcus is 100 percent healthy before he goes out there on the field. If he doesn't play this year, then he doesn't play this year. But I think if anybody can overcome what he's been through, it's him, Marcus Lattimore.''