On3 Roundtable: South Carolina has to find Tim Tebow role for LaNorris Sellers now

When Shane Beamer took over, the quarterback room was a disaster in Columbia. Between injuries and not having the right talent, South Carolina underwent a full rebuild at the position. Flash forward to the 2023 season and things are sitting pretty, with Spencer Rattler being the headliner as the starter.

Those behind Rattler are gaining plenty of attention, though. LaNorris Sellers, in particular, stole some headlines during spring practice these past couple of months. Gamecock Central‘s Wes Mitchell joined the On3 Roundtable and said Beamer has to get Norris on the field this season.

South Carolina might have not had that in the cards heading into spring camp. But Sellers impressed Mitchell so much, Beamer must find a role for the true freshman.

“They’ve really been able to build some depth in that room,” Mitchell said. “They have Luke Doty back and he’s been a guy that’s been around and will be the backup this year. But you can’t help but get excited about watching a guy like LaNorris Sellers. I went into spring saying ‘this kid will probably redshirt, spend some time behind Rattler. Just kind of use this year as a year to get ready.’

“I watched him all spring and am saying ‘they have to find some kind of role for this guy this year.’ Big kid, athletic kid. Massive arm, accurate. Kind of a quiet, natural, lead-by-example guy.”

Mitchell then gave out a suggestion, saying South Carolina could model what Florida did with Tim Tebow when he arrived on campus. Chris Leak started while the Gators marched onto a national championship but Tebow ran for 469 yards and eight touchdowns on 89 attempts. Five passing touchdowns were added as well.

“I wonder if you’re South Carolina if you don’t find some type of a Tebow freshman-year role for this kid, just to get him on the field. They used Dakereon Joyner in that role a good bit last year. But Joyner is now at running back due to their depth issues there. So, I’m looking at Sellers saying there is a role he can probably find as a true freshman this season.”

Sellers played high school football at Florence (SC) South Florence, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 353 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

However, On3 was higher on LaNorris Sellers than any of the four major recruiting services. Sellers came in at No. 95 overall and a top 10 quarterback in the 2023 On300. Just one other service ranked him as a four-star prospect.

Thus far, the On3 ranking is turning out to be true for South Carolina.

“Shoutout Charles Power of On3, who does the rankings,” Mitchell said. “I’ve got texts from a year ago, to a year and a half ago from Charles saying, ‘hey, check this guy out. He’s better than anybody knows.’ We’re seeing that play out in front of our eyes here in Columbia.”

Rattler is going to be the main guy for South Carolina this season. And this time next season, we may be discussing Sellers as a real threat to win the starting job. However, Beamer cannot wait to get Sellers onto the field until then. The skill is too evident and will only improve as the Gamecocks come back in the fall.