South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers not feeling pressure of quarterback competition

LaNorris Sellers has the look of QB1. Which is to say he has a look. He has the glasses. The rec specs. The goggles. Whatever you wanna call them, Sellers has them.

If you’ve seen Sellers once, you’ve seen him a thousand times. Buzzed head. Youthful face. And glasses. He has a memorable look. A brand. He has a line of T-shirts that doesn’t even include his name, but just his number (16) inside glasses. There is already an X account named “Lanorris Sellers’ Rec Specs.”

As South Carolina transitions to a quarterback room absent of Spencer Rattler, some are ready to declare Sellers the starter because, well, he’s the only guy Gamecock fans have any familiarity with.

Outside of Sellers, South Carolina’s quarterback room consists of three guys — all of whom stepped on campus a few weeks ago: Auburn transfer Robby Ashford, Oklahoma transfer Davis Beville and freshman Dante Reno.

Redshirt senior Luke Doty is still garnering some reps at quarterback but, as was the case for most of last season, it looks like his role will be primarily at wide receiver and helping on special teams.

Which somehow makes Sellers, a redshirt freshman, the lone familiar face in the quarterback room and who took the first rep of spring practice last week.

“I am a lot more comfortable. Last year was just fast paced,” he said. “I knew the stuff but you’d get out there on the field and it’s my first time seeing it full, SEC speed and you’re lost. Now, I’ve got it now, know everything now so it’s a lot easier for me.”

Yet, what we know about him as a college quarterback is very limited. Coming into South Carolina he led South Florence the 2022 4A state championship, finishing his senior season with nearly 3,000 yards passing, over 1,300 rushing yards and 62 total touchdowns.

But at South Carolina, we have basically seen Sellers make two plays. Granted, those plays were so spellbinding that if Patrick Mahomes made them on a Sunday, talking heads would anoint him as the Second Coming.

The first came in garbage time of an early-season win over Furman. With time in the pocket, Sellers unleashed a touchdown pass to Tyshawn Russell that traveled closer to 65 yards in the air. And Sellers didn’t even wind up. He used less effort than most people throwing a Nerf ball across the room.

The second came later in the season against Vanderbilt — again in garbage time. On a play the coaches wanted him to hand the ball off, Sellers pulled the pigskin on a read-option and bolted past three defenders for a 36-yard touchdown. It would have been impressive from anyone, but Sellers was a 6-foot-3, 245-pound freshman blowing by multiple guys.

So, yes, it is easy to see Sellers and think, well, of course he’s the guy. But Sellers has to prove it this spring. Perhaps through the summer and into fall camp, too.

“Anything can happen,” Sellers said. “I can go out there and just completely not do what I am expected to do and you can lose a spot. Not really lose a spot because nothing is set in stone yet. You just have to try and get better every single day.”

When asked how he’s going to determine a starting quarterback, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains gave one of the more specific answers you’ll ever hear from a coach overseeing a QB competition.

“The message to those guys is the guy who gets the team in the end zone the most will have the greatest chance to be the guy,” Loggains said. “That’s what we’re gonna judge it on.”

To Loggains, it’s simple: A quarterback competition should not be judged on completions or individual drills or some arbitrary “feel.” It should be judged on drives. On who’s the best when the bullets are flying. Who’s getting the best out of their teammates.

Which is to say that while Sellers is the definite favorite — given he’s the only guy with experience in Loggains’ system — who’s to say Ashford or Reno couldn’t find the end zone more and nab the starting spot?

One would think that would heighten the pressure on Sellers, but he’s not looking at things through a big-picture lens.

“I do have expectations for myself,” Sellers said. “I try not to make the same mistake twice. So I try to keep learning, making new mistakes — that’s what (Loggains) would say. Not do the same thing and go backwards. Just make new mistakes and basically learn from them and keep going forward.”

For now, Loggains message to his young quarterback is simple: Be firm in your decision making. Don’t second guess. Don’t be jerky. Don’t be hesitant. Just rip it. And, perhaps, Loggains words of wisdom will guide him towards a starting quarterback decision.

“If you make a decision,” Loggains tells Sellers, “just stick with it.”