Shane Beamer: 'LaNorris Sellers is still young but he's a winner'

With Spencer Rattler off to the NFL, the South Carolina Gamecocks will be challenged with answering the question of who will lead the offense into battle next season. Head coach Shane Beamer has plenty of time to come up with an answer to that question in the offseason. But there is one particular candidate that Beamer is keeping a close eye on in LaNorris Sellers.

The Gamecocks head man recently had a conversation with On3’s J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count about the state of the program heading into spring practice. Beamer discussed the promise of Sellers.

“Yeah, he’s a great young man, first and foremost; really used that year last year to get better,” said Beamer. “When we put him in games last season, he performed well. Whether it was at the end of the game in wins over Vanderbilt and Furman; we used him in a package against Kentucky as well. And he was always productive in those moments; moments not too big for him. So, I think he’s got a great way about himself.

“And then, just physically, he’s a big kid and can run. He’s still young, don’t be wrong, but he’s a winner. [He] won a state championship in high school at South Florence High School here in South Carolina and is made of the right stuff.”

While it does seem that Sellers has the inside track to being South Carolina’s starting quarterback in 2024, he will not do so without a challenge in the offseason from a number of worthy challengers. And those challengers, like recent transfer quarterback Robby Ashford, have a leg up over Sellers in the experience department.

“So he’s young,” Beamer continued. “We gotta continue to be good around him. We got a competition in that room along with Robby Ashford, who we brought in from Auburn; Davis Beville, who transferred in from Oklahoma; Dante Reno, a freshman that just got here, and Luke Doty, who’s been in our program now since before I became the head coach. So I like that room. They’re doing a good job of supporting one another, and I’m excited to watch that quarterback position compete with one another when we start spring practice.”

Last season, as a true freshman, Sellers saw action in just three games. During that small sample size, he was able to give South Carolina fans a small taste of what he has to offer at the position, going a perfect 4-4 for 86 yards with two passing touchdowns in 2023. He also had five carries for 51 yards and one rushing touchdown.

As mentioned above, there is still a long way to go until the start of the 2024 season. But if Sellers continues on the path that he is currently on, it would be hard for Beamer to look anywhere else but toward him as the Gamecocks starting quarterback for this season and beyond.