Shane Beamer explains where South Carolina stands on deciding starting quarterback

Shane Beamer won’t name a starting quarterback for South Carolina quite yet. But it seems like the Gamecocks head coach will be pleased with whatever direction.

LaNorris Sellers and Auburn transfer Robby Ashford seem to be the top options with Davis Beville also in the mix. One of them will end up replacing Spencer Rattler.

Sellers stood out during the spring game, so Beamer referred to him when asked about a starting quarterback decision.

“I know when you see him getting an award at halftime, it’s easy to say okay, well he got the award, surely he’s gonna be the starting quarterback,” Beamer said. “Those are all things that we’ll sit down, obviously we’ll evaluate all 15 practices and he did a good job tonight. So to answer your question, I’ll watch the tape.

“We’ll sit down and start player meetings with our guys Monday morning at 7am with players in my office for the next three days and I’ll have those conversations with the staff and those players as far as where their role is and then go from there.”

In Saturday’s game, Sellers completed 9-of-11 passes for 70 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He added 38 rushing yards on five carries, and most importantly looked to be in command of the Gamecock offense.

“I thought LaNorris was really, really good,” Beamer said. “He has been good all spring. … I thought he just looked very very poised out there, very efficient, he looked good running the ball. Those defensive guys were yelling at me the entire first half that they thought a lot of those runs would have been sacks, they were mad that I didn’t blow the whistle. I thought he did a really good job just operating the offense, running when it presented itself and being able to make throws also.”

Beamer also has Ashford in the fold and the former Auburn quarterback has some buzz as a dual threat. Ashford started his career at Oregon but did not play.

Over the last two seasons, Ashford threw for 1,758 yards, nine touchdowns, nine interceptions, a 49.5% completion percentage, 927 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Sellers might have more of a command of the offense at the moment, but Beamer won’t tip his cap in either direction yet.

For now, it’s all about the development up until the season opener.