South Carolina fans, be thankful: LaNorris Sellers is even better than you think he is

South Carolina football fans are concentrated on this weekend’s rivalry matchup with the Clemson Tigers. They’re also thinking about how a Palmetto Bowl victory could vault them into the College Football Playoff if a few other things go well around the country. However, this Thanksgiving week, the Gamecock Faithful should also think about their good fortune in having LaNorris Sellers at quarterback.

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The redshirt freshman Sellers has burst onto the college football scene this fall. After an up-and-down start to the year, the game slowed down for No. 16. The improvement was drastic.

In his last six games, Sellers has logged at least 250 yards of offense five times, including surpassing 350 yards on three occasions. He threw for multiple touchdowns in five of those games, too. He also logged nine total scores in just the last two weeks.

No other quarterback in college football has more passing scores in November than Sellers’ 12. With one November contest remaining, he is two passing touchdowns shy of tying Steve Taneyhill’s single-month Gamecock record (14 in October of 1995). His 14 total touchdowns are just one short of Jake Bentley’s South Carolina football record (15 in November of 2018).

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And those are just stats. Some of the things LaNorris Sellers does on the field transcend the box score.

As one of the strongest quarterbacks in the country, he routinely (it isn’t actually routine, but he does it so often that it feels routine for him) shakes off sack-hungry defensive linemen in the backfield before finding an open man downfield. Against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, and Missouri, Sellers broke free from what looked to be a sure sack only to complete the ball downfield for a 20+ yard gain. One of them, near the goal line against Vanderbilt, was increasingly impressive.

He did it again in the Missouri game, finding Brady Hunt for a key 3rd-down conversion late.

Despite being just 19, Sellers can make any throw on the football field.

Against Wofford last week, he uncorked a ball downfield to Dalevon Campbell that traveled over 55 yards downfield. That distance isn’t overly impressive until you realize he didn’t take a QB shuffle or crow hop. Instead, Sellers took his normal drop, stepped once, and effortlessly flung the football downfield.

In the Texas A&M game, he made several impressive throws. He also showed that he has grown as a runner. Early in the season, Sellers listened to his coaches and slid ahead of contact to help avoid injury. However, there were several instances in which he slid just in front of the line to gain. He showed improved situational awareness against the Aggies when he trucked defensive back BJ Mayes for the 3rd-down conversion.

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With his strong play and un-teachable traits, Sellers has turned himself into a coveted NFL Draft prospect.

Some college football analysts have compared him to Anthony Richardson (who went 4th overall in the 2023 draft). Felix Sharpe of Campus2Canton.com, though, thinks he could be better than Richardson because he has more time to develop. NFLMockDraftDatabase.com and Draftscout.com view the talented young quarterback as a “stock up” player.

The reality of LaNorris Sellers’ season hasn’t been lost on South Carolina football fans.

Sellers wasn’t bad during the first half of the year; he just looked like a redshirt freshman who also showed some flashes of brilliance. Those flashes have ignited into a red-hot flame as Sellers and the Gamecocks have been on fire during the team’s 5-game winning streak.

The hype surrounding USC’s starting quarterback has grown exponentially, and if the Florence native can lead his Gamecocks to a victory this weekend over the rival Clemson Tigers, this offseason will be loaded with high (but still realistic) expectations.

No matter how Saturday goes, though, South Carolina fans should be thankful to have LaNorris Sellers as their favorite team’s QB1.

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