LaNorris Sellers details mindset after just coming up short of playoff, weighty NFL projections

Despite just barely missing out of the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last season, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers knows the Gamecocks are only a few plays away from reaching that next level.

“It’s only three or four plays, those small plays — the one or two plays in the game — that matter a lot,” Sellers told On3 during Friday’s media availability at the 2025 Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana. “So that’s what kept us out of the Playoffs.”

South Carolina’s exclusion from the 2024 College Football Playoff field created quite the controversy, especially within SEC country, after the Playoff committee opted to include an 11-1 Indiana and 11-2 SMU over a trio of three-loss SEC teams — Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — which were ranked No. 11, No. 14 and No. 15, respectively, in the post-championship rankings.

The committee actually gave the Hoosiers, which were undefeated before a late-season loss to eventual national champion Ohio State, a one spot bump in the final ranking despite not appearing in the Big Ten championship game. SMU, meanwhile, fell just two spots despite losing the ACC Championship to a 16th-ranked Clemson that same weekend.

South Carolina (9-4) was arguably college football’s hottest team down the stretch, winning its final six regular-season games — including ranked wins over Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson, the eventual ACC champion. After missing out on the Playoff, the Gamecocks fell flat in postseason with a 21-17 loss to Illinois in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

Sellers enters 2025 with some budding Heisman Trophy buzz after combining for more than 3,200 total yards and 25 touchdowns as South Carolina’s first-year starting QB in 2024. That included ranking 10th in the SEC with 2,534 passing yards and an 18-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Given that success, and offseason hype, the dual-threat Sellers has seen his name skyrocket up NFL Draft boards, including receiving some Top 10 love in multiple way-too-early NFL mock drafts. That love hasn’t evaded Sellers’ attention, though the talented Gamecocks QB knows the only way to secure first-round draft consideration is to earn it on the field.

“When I see my name (in NFL mock drafts) it’s cool to see, but I’ve still got to go out and play, so that’s all I’m worried about,” Seller said.

If Sellers can build upon last season’s successes and help push South Carolina into the 2025 College Football Playoff in the process, he’ll not only earn himself first-round draft buzz, but could also be in the Heisman Trophy mix as well.