South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers receiving tons of hype, and he deserves every bit of it
During South Carolina’s three-game resurgence and return to the national scene, much of the renewed attention on the Gamecocks has been focused on the defense. Rightfully so. On that side of the football, Carolina has been downright dominant in five of their last six halves of football. However, the offense has received some well-earned flowers for playing their best ball of the season recently.
With all due respect to the excellent production from running back Rocket Sanders and the improved play from the USC offensive line, South Carolina’s redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers also is a big reason for the turnaround.
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Sellers’ short flashes of promise in 2023 had the fanbase’s expectations too high entering this fall. He wasn’t bad at the beginning of the season, but because he wasn’t playing at an excellent level in the first starts of his career, grumbling ensued. Then, the young signal-caller suffered an ankle injury, missed 1.5 games, and played somewhat slowed against Ole Miss.
In his last four games, the Florence, South Carolina native has flipped a switch.
In those games, he has completed 65% of his passes for 895 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception. He has also added 191 yards rushing and an additional touchdown. In total, against Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt, he has averaged over 270 yards of offense and two touchdowns but has thrown just one pick. Sellers’ passer rating in those contests is 159.1. He’s also shaken free of at least six sacks in the last two weeks.
The Southeastern Conference has rewarded Sellers’ strong play with back-to-back SEC Freshman of the Week honors. The Davey O’Brien Award also named him the National Quarterback of the Week after his showing against Texas A&M. However, weekly accolades are far from the only recognition building on the LaNorris Sellers hype train.
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Perhaps contagious from the epidemic raging in Columbia, the national media has started catching LaNorris fever.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli recently ranked college football’s starting quarterbacks, and Sellers slotted in at No. 6 in the country. Fornelli says that Sellers has started showing “the juice” necessary to be a great quarterback.
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Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer even said that another SEC coach texted him, calling Sellers “freaking Superman.”
And for those who have watched every Gamecock snap the past month or so, what No. 16 has done has been even more impressive than any stats.
He’s made plays with his legs like this:
And made throws like this:
And used his legs to make a play with his arm like this:
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With at least one more (and up to three more) years of college ball in front of LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina football fans will get the chance to witness plenty more plays like these.
The Gamecocks are still holding out hope for an at-large bid into the College Football Playoff field. For that to be possible, though, South Carolina has to win out, starting with this Saturday’s game. A sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium will welcome the Missouri Tigers to Columbia for a 4:15 p.m. tilt. Fans can tune in to watch the game on SEC Network or stream it on the ESPN app.
