What Gamecocks QB LaNorris Sellers said about decision to stay at South Carolina
South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers confirmed to The State on Saturday that he will be a Gamecock in 2026.
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Sellers said while signing autographs at Dick Dyer Mercedes.
Still, Sellers noted, it is not official — at least contractually. The Gamecocks quarterback still has not signed a revenue-sharing deal with South Carolina.
When asked what’s still being finalized, Sellers said, “Just like roster stuff. Just all the agreement stuff like signing.”
In saying that, Sellers admitted that he will be involved in South Carolina’s roster construction for the 2026 season. Sellers has the green light to watch film on players in the transfer portal and send the tape to head coach Shane Beamer or a Gamecocks position coach and see how they feel about the guy.
“(The coaching staff) said I was a big piece of it,” Sellers noted. “They said the quarterback is the main thing, so when guys hear from the quarterback it means something more. … All I can do is talk to the guys and get them here.”
Sellers’ decision, which was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, comes two days after the Gamecocks announced that TCU’s Kendal Briles will be South Carolina’s next offensive coordinator.
As Beamer was searching for a new OC, Sellers watched tape on a number of candidates he had heard about. Last Saturday, he began watching tape of TCU’s offenses under Briles and “liked him then.”
To Sellers, Briles’ offenses reminded him a lot of the Gamecocks’ scheme in 2024 under then-offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, who worked with Briles at Arkansas.
As a redshirt freshman under Loggains, Sellers burst onto the college football scene, throwing for over 2,500 yards and 18 touchdowns while notching victories over Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson.
“They ran the same thing at Arkansas,” Sellers said of Briles’ scheme. “(Loggains) brought that offense with him to USC. It is (very similar).”
Sellers’ decision to return to South Carolina comes after a rough redshirt sophomore season in which the Gamecocks went 4-8 and offensive coordinator Mike Shula was fired in November. Behind an offensive line that allowed 43 sacks, Sellers struggled mightily, and his stats dropped in almost every category.
After coming into the season as a projected top-5 pick in nearly every mock draft, Sellers’ draft stock fell drastically during the season and opened the door for him to return to school.
“Obviously there was stuff I felt like I had to work on as well,” Sellers said. “Pretty much, (NFL scouts) were saying the same thing. It was just a lot — weighing out all my options and what was best for (right) now and the future.”
Asked when he expects his contract to be finalized with South Carolina, Sellers shrugged.
“Shoot,” he said, “I don’t really know.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2025 at 3:10 PM.
