Dowell Loggains says toughest part about leaving South Carolina was 'to call LaNorris Sellers'
There weren’t many places that Dowell Loggains would’ve left South Carolina for. But when he got offered the head coaching job at Appalachian State, he knew this would be one of the few exceptions.
When he decided to accept the offer and move on from his duties as the Gamecocks’ offensive coordinator, he had a very tough phone call to make. He called head coach Shane Beamer to let him know about the opportunity. But he also had to call LaNorris Sellers, his quarterback who he developed a two-plus year relationship with in Columbia.
“I told (App State) in the interview process that the hardest thing that I was going to have to do when I left South Carolina was to call LaNorris Sellers,” Loggains said in his introductory press conference on Monday.
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When South Carolina hired Loggains on Dec. 13, 2022, Sellers hadn’t committed to the Gamecocks yet. At the time, he had already verbally committed to play football at Syracuse after flipping his commitment from Virginia. But when Loggains turned on his tape, he wanted to try and keep the Florence, SC native in-state.
“I walk back to our recruiting people and say, ‘Hey, who is this guy?’ This guy’s got unbelievable character,” Loggains said. “This is going to be an evaluation developmental program. It’s things we learned in the NFL from Coach Bill Parcells in the evaluation process. But (Sellers) was a winner. He was a really good soccer player. He had great feet, which also correlates with playing quarterback.”
With that year’s National Signing Day 10 days away, Loggains had to get to work in trying to flip Sellers from the Orange.
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“You’ve got 10 days and he’s never met you,” Loggains said. “He’s never talked to you a day in his life. And you tell him about your vision for the offense and you’re building a relationship.”
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It was a process and grind with not much time to spare. But when the moment came for Sellers to announce his college plans, he decided to become a Gamecock.
Two years later, Loggains has helped develop Sellers into one of the bright young stars in college football. In his first season as the starter, the redshirt freshman threw for 2,274 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 655 yards and seven touchdowns, capping off his regular season with a go-ahead touchdown run to beat Clemson in the Palmetto Bowl on Nov. 30.
When Loggains made his decision to leave for App State, it came down to the vision of the program and a rich tradition of winning. But when he had to make the phone call to Sellers, he said it was “really hard between us.”
“Obviously, the success we had this year, I’m so proud of that young man,” Loggains said. “He’s going to be really good. We’ll continue to stay close and help him. I’ll watch him through his journey and he knows that I’ll always be in his corner.”
