South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers eager to shake off last season, refocus on challenging in the SEC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — LaNorris Sellers is not sure when he first noticed his calm, steady demeanor in almost all situations. Often, when he is on the sidelines, it's hard to tell if the South Carolina quarterback just threw a game-winning touchdown or a drive-ending interception.

“I guess I was just raised that way,” Sellers said.

The third-year starter will need every bit of that mental focus to get back on track after a disappointing season for hiimself and the Gamecocks, who fell to 4-8 after going 9-4 in Sellers' first season in control.

“We just need to show up every day and work at it,” Sellers said. “We know we can get over the hill, we just need to do it.”

If Sellers looks anything like he did in 2024, it could be a very strong year for South Carolina. The 6-foot-3 quarterback from Florence, South Carolina, was a revelation that season, an unstoppable, strong-armed player able to shred the speediest, strongest tacklers to make winning plays.

Few were bigger than his scintillating, 20-yard touchdown run with 1:08 to go in a win at Clemson two seasons ago when Sellers made five cuts to reach the end zone against a defense that included future NFL linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker.

Sellers, who threw for 2,534 yards and ran for another 674, accounted for 25 touchdowns that year and had a glide-path to the biggest milestones in college football. He was on the shortlist for the Heisman Trophy before last season and there were whispers about maybe going No. 1 in the draft.

Instead, Sellers and the team struggled. Sellers threw for fewer yards and his interceptions rose. He was sacked 42 times — South Carolina's offensive line was an injury-riddled disaster — the most of any Southeastern Conference quarterback. He ran for almost 400 fewer yards.

Sellers was disappointed, to be sure, with the results and his performance, sixth-year coach Shane Beamer said. And the redshirt junior has shown more urgency in individual workouts and practices.

“I see that right now,” Beamer said. “I see him being very vocal out there, challenging receivers, talking to people, leading, yelling at me if I blew the whistle because I think he would have been sacked and he disagreed with it, whatever it might be. So I think he’s in a good place right now,”

Part of that comes from Sellers' growing relationship with first-year offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. When the offense struggled last year, offensive coordinator Mike Shula was let go. Briles, hired from TCU, has worked on speeding up South Carolina's attack, something he believes fits perfectly with Sellers' skills.

“He’s got those traits and that ability to be able to use his feet and his legs and his mind to be able to make plays work,” said Briles, Sellers' fourth coordinator. “I’m really excited about the confidence he has right now.”

Sellers has an internship at a local driving range — “I'll be cutting grass, picking up balls,” he says — and closing in on a bachelor's degree in sports and entertainment management. He's also sat in meetings with the company currently working on improvements at Williams-Brice Stadiium and would like to go into engineering when his football career is finished.

Sellers will have some hurdles on the field. His younger brother, Jayden, is out for the year with what the school called a lower body injury. The Sellers brothers combined for 22 receptions for 337 yards. The older Sellers called his brothers' injury “unfortunate,” particularly with the quarterback a likely entry into the next NFL draft and their time playing together in college just about over.

“I told him to stay positive,” LaNorris said. "He knows that if he needs anything, he can talk to me, but he can also talk to everyone on the team.”

That's big brother's plan, too: Stay upbeat, focused and locked into his goals to get South Carolina into the upper tier of the SEC and perhaps earn a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Sellers acknowledged this summer that last year's struggles dented his confidence, if not his chill demeanor. So it's eyes front and on the target to reach the goals he and the Gamecocks couldn't a year ago.

“But it’s like, if you lose a bunch of games, that’s going to happen to everybody," Sellers said. "So it’s about attacking every day. If you’re prepared, that’ll handle the confidence.”

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