LaNorris Sellers injury update: Latest on Week 4 availability vs. Missouri revealed

There’s reportedly some optimism regarding South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers‘ availability Saturday at No. 23 Missouri despite the Gamecocks’ dual-threat quarterback suffering a concussion in the first half of last week’s game vs. Vanderbilt, according to ESPN insider Pete Thamel.

Sellers has reportedly practiced this week, per Thamel, providing “positive signs for his availability” to play Saturday vs. the Tigers. Sellers left the Vanderbilt game after taking a hard helmet-to-helmet hit on a blitz from Commodores linebacker Langston Patterson with 1:52 left in the first half and wouldn’t return.

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has repeatedly declined to update Sellers’ status this week, instead deferring to the team’s SEC-mandated injury reports — the first of which will be released Wednesday night — but did make it clear Tuesday that Sellers would need to practice in some capacity on Tuesday and/or Wednesday if he’s going to be available to play Saturday.

“Yeah, we have a pretty consistent policy if you don’t practice Tuesday or Wednesday, you’re not going to play,” Beamer said during Tuesday’s press conference. “I don’t care who you are, if you don’t get out there and practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays especially, it’s really tough to just practice on Thursday. Practice on Thursdays are important here, but it’s a little bit of a shorter day, and the base or bulk of your gameplan is (installed) on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“So whether you’re an offensive player, a defensive player, or a special teams player, we need to be able to see you do something on Tuesday or Wednesday.”

Sellers, a redshirt sophomore, is widely projected as a likely Top-10 selection in April’s 2026 NFL Draft, with some projecting he could go as high as No. 1 overall. Through 2 1/2 games this season, Sellers has combined for 476 total yards and three touchdowns, including 431 yards and two scores on 64.4-percent passing. If Sellers is unavailable to play Saturday against the Tigers, veteran backup Luke Doty is likely to get the starting nod, according to Nakos.

Doty replaced Sellers against Vanderbilt, finishing 18-of-27 for 148 yards with an interception and a fumble. The sixth-year senior has made nine career starts. It marked South Carolina’s first loss to Vanderbilt since 2008.

Beginning with Saturday’s game at No. 23 Missouri (7 pm ET, ESPN), the Gamecocks enter the heart of their SEC slate with a home game vs. Kentucky on Sept. 27 before traveling to Baton Rouge to play No. 3 LSU on Oct. 11. That begins a string of five straight games against ranked SEC opponents, including back-to-back home games against No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 14 Alabama on Oct. 18 and Oct. 25, respectively.