Gamecocks freshman QB LaNorris Sellers already turning heads

COLUMBIA — He’s gonna play. That much is obvious.
How much is up to him and the circumstances, although the first part of that equation has already been answered.
“(His) being there for spring practice was really beneficial for him,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “He certainly opened up a lot of eyes in spring practice with his ability.”
No prospect excites like a quarterback prospect, even when his team has an entrenched starter, as the Gamecocks have in Spencer Rattler, and an entrenched backup, as the Gamecocks have in Luke Doty. Yet there’s something about LaNorris Sellers that everyone has already picked up on.
Whether it was his storybook final high-school season or the flashes of brilliance he showed during the spring game, Sellers has grabbed the attention of the Gamecocks’ coaches and their fan base.
An in-state kid who flipped his commitment from Syracuse to USC shortly after National Signing Day, Sellers has already impressed with his quick understanding of the playbook and his work ethic, adding 13 pounds to his already rippling frame so that he’ll check into preseason camp next week at 245.
Yes, it’s a crowded QB room with Colten Gauthier and Tanner Bailey in front of him, not to mention Rattler and Doty. But his status as a runner and a passer could flip that script to where he’s the third-string QB by the end of camp.
“Dual-threat ability, I guess, is what we’re going to go with,” Sellers chuckled at the team’s Pigskin Poets event last week. “They said they want to help me get experience, but just really help the team as best I can, anywhere I can.”
Sellers rushed eight times for 32 yards with a long of 15 during the spring game, and completed 3 of 8 passes for 66 yards. It fits what he did last year at South Florence High.
The maestro of an undefeated-season symphony, Sellers threw for 2,948 yards and rushed for 1,338, accounting for a combined 62 touchdowns. He eclipsed the 200-yard mark in rushing and passing during the Bruins’ 57-30 gutting of state powerhouse Northwestern High to complete a 15-0 year and win the school’s first football title.
The offers that had been absent while he was sitting out most of his junior season with an injury suddenly began arriving. Torn between staying loyal to Syracuse since they had promised him a chance to play QB instead of being shifted to “athlete,” Sellers re-focused on recruiting after the state championship and decided the pull of playing an hour from home was too great.
That, and the fact that Beamer assured him he would play QB.
“Luke, Tanner Bailey, Colten … all those guys, we really like our quarterback room, especially our starter. He needs to be on the field but we’ll see where things go and what we do,” Beamer said. “But certainly LaNorris has a bright future at our place, and he showed in spring practice that the moment’s not too big for him if he were to have to play this season.”
The “Wildcat” QB role the past few seasons has been Dakereon Joyner’s, but since he’s expected to be on the field as a primary running back, USC could use another. That’s what makes Sellers so intriguing — yes, Sellers taking the snap could be an automatic key to the defense that a run is coming, but he can throw; and nothing against Joyner, but Sellers has 15 more pounds he can use to bulldoze a potential tackler if he takes off.
Sellers demurred when asked if he’s confident that he’ll play, but thanked Beamer for his trust and explained how he’s approaching camp.
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“Still got work to do. Still got things to improve on, so just taking it as I go,” he said. “You can’t rush it. You can’t force anything.”
Game situations will of course play a role. The Gamecocks will go with their veterans in tight situations, and their “experiment” game, a contest in which to try formations and personnel, will feasibly not arrive until Week 2 against Furman. Against North Carolina in the season-opener, USC is expected to have to go best-against-best.
But there’s a month ahead where if Sellers proves he’s the best, he could get that opportunity to play.