Shane Beamer: LaNorris Sellers has 'really big future' ahead of him

Shane Beamer still remembers seeing LaNorris Sellers slinging it over the summer at a South Carolina 7-on-7 camp.

The South Florence quarterback made some plays that blew the Gamecocks’ staff away, leading them to monitor Sellers’ progress.

That turned into an offer while en route to ultimately flipping Sellers from his Syracuse commitment on the final day of the early signing period. 

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“LaNorris is a guy, I mean what can you say? He had a special senior season as a quarterback this year. He was a guy that had some injuries his junior year. Coach (Drew) Marlowe brought his team over for our 7-on-7 camp this past summer and we watched him in camp,” Beamer said after Gator Bowl practice Monday. “We’re just blown away by some of the plays he made in camp in competitive 7-on-7 settings. Then we told him that day, ‘We’re going to watch your tape.’ At that point, we didn’t have a bunch of quarterback offers out there.”

For most of the cycle, South Carolina’s only real quarterback offer out was Dylan Lonergan. But, when the four-star ultimately chose Alabama, the Gamecocks weren’t heavily pursuing a quarterback.

The process of getting the four-star quarterback to sign with South Carolina was one predicated on staying the course.

South Carolina saw him in that camp and also paid attention to his senior season. The Gamecocks offered him in the middle of the season and had to wait until signing day to land his commitment. 

It comes on the heels of a fantastic senior year for Sellers, who helped lead South Florence to a state championship. 

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This season Sellers threw for 2,948 yards and rushed for another 1,338 with a combined 62 touchdowns to just two interceptions. He was also a finalist for the state’s Mr. Football, which ultimately went to future teammate Xzavier McLeod. 

“We watched LaNorris’s tape each week throughout the season and every week he was just lighting people up,” Beamer said. “I think he’s got a really big future in front of him. He’s a great young man. I have a ton of respect for him.”

What’s impressed Beamer is how Sellers went about the process of decommitting from Syracuse and ultimately flipping to the Gamecocks. 

It can be easy for a high school senior to burn bridges during that process but Beamer was impressed with how Sellers handled things. 

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“He wanted to handle the situation with Syracuse the right way. He felt a great sense of loyalty to those guys, which I respect. (Sellers) had a hard time telling Syracuse no. I have respect for that,” Beamer said. “He wanted to do things the right way. Certainly, circumstances changed at Syracuse with changes on their coaching staff. Circumstances changed at our place as well.”

Sellers is also part of South Carolina’s No. 16-ranked signing class made up of 48 percent blue-chip prospects. The four-star quarterback is one of them, checking in as the No. 156 player and also the No. 12 quarterback for his class. 

The Gamecocks signed four of the top six players in the 2023 class: Markee Anderson (No. 147), McLeod (198), Monteque Rhames (346) along with Sellers. 

“I’m excited he’s staying in-state. I appreciate Markee Anderson and Monteque recruiting the you-know-what out of him at the Shrine Bowl from what they were telling me,” Beamer said. “They were texting me all week telling me all the recruiting stuff they were doing.” 

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