LaNorris Sellers for Heisman? South Carolina open to embracing the hype
The name is just sitting there ... and it’s perfect.
LaHeisman.
“I think that’s pretty trendy, pretty slick,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer told The State during the SEC spring meetings.
A few folks on social media have already began to use the #LaHeisman hashtag on X, trying to put out into the ether what many believe: South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is a legitimate contender for the Heisman Trophy.
We are past the era of the true need for a school-ran Heisman campaign. Back before every game was televised, it was on sports information directors and schools to educate Heisman voters on their player by mailing out informational material. Even when almost every game was televised, campaigns persisted.
Like Washington State’s SID — trying to boost the Heisman chances of quarterback Ryan Leaf in 1998 — mailing single leaves that he found on campus to voters. More recently, Missouri spent $25,000 to create viewfinders with pictures of QB Chase Daniel to send to voters. Texas A&M marketed Johnny Manziel — who wasn’t permitted to talk to the media because he was a freshman — by creating an entire website centered around their quarterback.
Just last year, Boise State ran an aggressive social media campaign — one that led to very popular shirts — called “Hei2man” centered around running back Ashton Jeanty, who wore the No. 2 jersey for the Broncos. Jeanty finished second in the voting.
All that is to say: Is South Carolina planning a campaign for Sellers?
“We’ve had some initial discussions about that. He’s certainly a candidate,” Beamer said. “We’d be remiss to not do something trying to promote that. We’ve had some initial discussions — whether it be between myself and (sports information director) Steve Fink or myself and (AD for creative and branding) Justin King — of kind of how we want to approach that.”
With three months to go before the 2025 season kicks off, Draft Kings Sportsbook has Sellers’ Heisman odds at 20-1 — which is only bested by seven players, including Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (14-1). Texas QB Arch Manning leads the list at 7-1 odds.
South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati was the AD at TCU when Horned Frogs QB Max Duggan came out of nowhere to finish second in the Heisman voting. Donati was in New York for the ceremony and understands what goes into it.
“We will make sure we are fully behind LaNorris and, assuming he performs like we think he will,” Donati said, “we’ll make sure that he’s in a great position.”
This is not new territory for South Carolina.
Since George Rogers won the school’s only Heisman Trophy in 1980, a number of Gamecocks have come along with enough preseason hype to think it’s possible that Rogers could have company.
Coming off “The Hit” in the Outback Bowl, Jadeveon Clowney had 10-1 odds heading into the 2013 season. The year before, Heisman hype for running back Marcus Lattimore — among the favorites at 7-1 — blew up when Lattimore said of his 2011 goals: “Get more yards than I had last year. Get more touchdowns. I want to win the Heisman.” (Those comments did not sit well with Steve Spurrier.)
In 2014 — a year after he ran for nearly 1,200 yards — Mike Davis at one point had the seventh-best odds to lift the Heisman.
And now there’s Sellers, the redshirt sophomore quarterback who burst on the scene last year, throwing for over 2,300 yards while running for 674 yards and compiling 25 total touchdowns. It was his heroics in a win over Clemson — cutting and zipping through Tigers defenders for the game-winning score — that led to Beamer after the game using the “H” word.
“If you’re not voting for that guy in the mix for the Heisman Trophy, you’re out of your mind,” Beamer said. “Name a player in the country that’s done more than that kid has this year, particularly today.”
About six months later, the proclamation remains true. But now it’s up to Sellers to make it a reality.
“LaNorris would tell you — and I’ll tell you — the best thing he can do is play really good football and for us as a team to play good football and win football games. The rest will take care of itself.
Beamer added: “Certainly we’ve had some initial talks about that and we’ll kind of see what it looks like as we go.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 1:00 PM.
