LaNorris Sellers injury update: South Carolina reveals QB's status vs. Missouri on Friday availability report

LaNorris Sellers was knocked out of last Saturday’s home loss to Vanderbilt after a facemask-to-facemask hit that resulted in a targeting ejection and sent South Carolina‘s superstar sophomore quarterback into the team’s concussion protocol. But after practicing some this week, Sellers is trending in the right direction and is likely to play in Saturday’s road game at No. 23 Missouri, according to On3‘s Pete Nakos and Chris Low.

South Carolina’s latest SEC availability report indicated as much Friday after Sellers improved from questionable on Wednesday’s report to probable by Thursday. He came off the availability report entirely on Friday, meaning he is officially good to go for Saturday’s game.

The Gamecocks (2-1, 0-1 SEC) kick off against No. 23 Missouri (3-0, 0-0) at 7 pm ET, Saturday, with the game televised on ESPN. The host Tigers enter the game as 9.5-point home favorites with an over-under of 48.5 points, according to BetMGM.

Missouri Tigers

K Blake Craig – OUT
QB Sam Horn – OUT
OL Logan Reichart – OUT
OL Cayden Green — OUT

South Carolina

DB Judge Collier – OUT
TE Michael Smith – OUT
WR Mazeo Bennett – PROBABLE
DB DQ Smith — PROBABLE

Sellers’ status has been the biggest question mark ahead of Saturday’s SEC showdown, with Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer making it clear his only chance to play rested on his participation in practice Tuesday and Wednesday.

“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.”

Along with Sellers, South Carolina listed receiver Mazeo Bennett and safety DQ Smith as “probable” on Thursday’s report, with Bennett improving from “questionable” on Wednesday.

Missouri starting left tackle Cayden Green was added to Missouri’s injury report Thursday though had a “probable” designation, though no specific injury has been revealed for Green.

While it’s been a tumultuous last week for South Carolina, vibes are high on the Missouri side. Under head coach Eli Drinkwitz, the Tigers have won seven of their last eight games (dating back to last season) and 11 of their last 16 conference games (dating back to 2023). Missouri had won five consecutive games against South Carolina prior to last season, where the Gamecocks came out on top 34-30 at home.

— On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this report.