LaNorris Sellers ‘ready’ for first season as South Carolina’s starting QB

There will be plenty of questions around the South Carolina football team when it gets ready to take the practice field on Aug. 2.

The biggest one: Is presumed starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers ready to lead the Gamecocks under center?

The redshirt freshman is the heir apparent to Spencer Rattler, the Gamecocks’ starter for the past two seasons and a fifth-round NFL Draft pick by the New Orleans Saints in April.

USC coach Shane Beamer told the reporters in May that Sellers was the starting quarterback coming out of spring practice. Those at Sellers’ old high school believes the moment won’t be too big for him.

“I have no idea what to expect from the rest of South Carolina football, but you can expect LaNorris Sellers to lead that team well,” South Florence coach Drew Marlowe told The State on Friday at SC PrepRedZone media day. “He will be poised no matter what circumstance or what is going on around him. He is going to lead that team. He will make South Carolina the best team they could be.”

Marlowe was Sellers’ coach in high school and saw the future Gamecock go through the highs and lows in his three years as a starter. The high was capped off with the Bruins’ unbeaten season and first state championship in 2022 when they defeated Northwestern, 57-30.

But Sellers also went through adversity. The Bruins were just 2-6 in first year as a starter during the COVID-shortened season. The following year, he suffered a season-ending injury midway through the season.

“When I see how special he was, I think about how he was as a sophomore and not as a senior and how he led our team and program through the tough year,” Marlowe said. “I remember how talented he was and how awful we were around him. He never lost his cool and did not let anyone know how frustrated he was, even though he was averaging getting sacked more times than he was throwing completions probably.”

“He just quietly and confidently led our team, and two years later we won the state championship.”

Sellers was amazing in his final season at South Florence, racking up almost 4,300 total yards and accounting for 62 touchdowns. In the state title game, he threw for 260 yards, ran for 192 and had six total touchdowns.

Weeks later, Sellers flipped his commitment from Syracuse to USC.

Gamecocks fans got a glimpse into Sellers’ skillset in his three appearances last year as a true freshman. In his debut against Furman, he went 4-for-4 passing and led the Gamecocks to a pair of scoring drives.

Sellers improvised on one play and threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to freshman Tyshawn Russell.

“That throw he had was pretty dang impressive,” Beamer said after the game. “Dowell Loggains was on the head phones saying, ‘Just run it! Run it!’ Then he rears back and throws that thing and I thought it was going to go to the Cockpit (student section) but Tyshawn comes out of nowhere and makes the catch.”

“He (Sellers) is a gamer. The moment is not too big for him. He came off the field, he was giddy. He was excited.”

USC coaches had high praise of Sellers during spring practice and some national analysts are expecting big things from him. On3’s Cody Bellaire called Sellers a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate this season.

Since the spring practice concluded, Sellers has been working hard with his teammates at USC and also spending time preparing with his QB trainer, Ramon Robinson, and his younger brother Jayden, a senior South Florence wide receiver and Gamecocks commit.

The two Sellers brothers have spent hours together working on their game at South Florence this summer.

“He is ready,” Jayden Sellers, the No. 12 player in the state, said of his older brother. “He is more mature now, and he is ready. He is physical, hard to bring down and can read a defense better than anyone I know.”