LaNorris Sellers sounds off on his future with South Carolina football team
As a true freshman, LaNorris Sellers learned a lot from veteran Spencer Rattler during their single season together with the South Carolina team.
Specifically, the balancing act required of a starting quarterback.
“He was a good guy, funny guy, made jokes, could lighten up the mood,” Sellers said in a radio interview Tuesday. “But ultimately, he was straight business. He knew this was his year. He had a lot to prove after last season. So he just came to work every day, and I just loved to watch it every day.”
Now, with Rattler formally declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft after one of the most statistically productive seasons in Gamecocks history, Sellers is applying those lessons learned as he prepares for a new reality — following in Rattler’s footsteps as USC’s likely next QB starter.
“I really just wanna make sure I lead by example,” Sellers said in a radio appearance in a Garnet Trust segment on 107.5 The Game, his first interview since Rattler declared for the draft last week. “I’m not a very ‘yell,’ always vocal kind of guy. If I need to talk to you, I’ll say what I need to say. But I won’t be anything obnoxious or crazy or anything.”
Coach Shane Beamer’s far from formally declaring Sellers as his starting quarterback for 2024, which will be a critical fourth season for Beamer and his program at large. But it’s a safe bet Sellers — a former four-star recruit from nearby South Florence High School who flipped from Syracuse to South Carolina late in last year’s early signing period — is the front-runner.
Blessed with a big arm and big frame (6-foot-3, 245 pounds) that adds to his dual-threat ability, the 18-year-old dazzled in limited action in three games this season and already has fans and outsiders excited about his potential as a full-time, redshirt freshman starter next year.
Whether it was his 50-yard bomb of a touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyshawn Russell against Furman, or his goal-line connection with fellow freshman Nyck Harbor in the same game, or his 36-yard touchdown run against Vanderbilt, Sellers’ raw talent shone through amid a 5-7 season.
He enters 2024 with all of four career passing attempts, but one regional scout told 247Sports earlier this week Sellers “might be the best QB I’ve ever scouted in person.”
Relationship with Dowell Loggains
How’s he handling the hype? By keeping it simple. Sellers said in Tuesday’s radio interview that he “tried to build relationships with as many people as I could” as a true freshman, knowing that if Rattler chose to move on after 2023 he could be in a position where those could come in handy.
Sellers said that’s a main goal of his for 2024, too: building further chemistry with incoming 2024 recruits and other players from his highly touted recruiting class, as well as the wide receiver, running back and offensive line groups at large.
“Talk to everybody so they feel like they can talk to you and you’re not just a ‘cut off from everybody’ guy,” Sellers said in the radio interview. “I’m even-keeled, so I’m not gonna go out of my way to do anything. But just building relationships, trying to talk to everybody as much as I can, making jokes, just lighting it up with everybody.”
Sellers also raved about his relationship with USC offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, who was hired away from Arkansas around the same time South Carolina was trying to flip Sellers from Syracuse last December and was a crucial figure in Sellers’ freshman development.
Sellers, who calls Loggains “D-Lo,” said he appreciates how Loggains’ offensive scheme is tailored to specific quarterbacks’ skill sets and how Loggains (who has an NFL background) views the coordinator-quarterback relationship as more of a partnership, where player and coach can be collaborative on play-calling and what works and doesn’t work.
“He just builds around it, puts players in place and puts plays in place. … He can do whatever he wants just based off the quarterback’s skill set,” Sellers said.
Naturally, that may include more designed running plays for Sellers, who has a unique combination of size and speed (as seen against Vanderbilt). As part of a dazzling 2022 senior state championship season at South Florence in which he threw for 2,984 yards and 45 touchdowns, Sellers also had 1,338 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground.
Entering the offseason, Sellers said he’s focused on building chemistry with teammates and keeping himself in college shape before the Gamecocks formally reconvene their team for winter workouts in early January. And he’s keeping tips from Rattler top of mind.
“He was always confident,” Sellers said in the radio interview. “He was always confident no matter what. He was just very confident all the time. It’s a good thing to learn from.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2023 at 7:10 AM.
