'He's strong as heck': The reality of trying to tackle LaNorris Sellers from an opponent’s perspective

LaNorris Sellers isn’t your average-sized quarterback. Standing at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, he proved to be a problem for defenses in 2024, and that looks to be the case again this year.

Following the Gamecocks’ 24-11 win over Virginia Tech on Sunday, Hokies defensive lineman Kemari Copeland took to social media to share how his first game of the season went. Deeper into his video, which has garnered more than 60,000 views on TikTok, he gave a unique perspective of what it’s like trying to tackle Sellers.

In what would be South Carolina’s final offensive drive of the game, Sellers faced a critical 3rd and 13 inside plus territory. Copeland, who blew by Gamecock left guard Markee Anderson, had a chance to sack Sellers for a big loss. Then he experienced what so many other defenders previously had.

“A clip of me went viral, missing this tackle,” Copeland said in his post. “But I want to say, this dude, LaNorris, is strong as heck.”

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Copeland, a 6-foot-3, 283-pound redshirt junior, managed to get both of his hands on Sellers. But he went a bit high in his tackle attempt as Sellers broke free and took off.

“I’m not going to lie, bro,” he said. “Any other quarterback, I would’ve sacked on this play. But this dude is strong as heck, bro.”

As soon as Copeland whiffed on this potential sack, Sellers ran to his left, where he had another Hokie defender ready to try and take him down. But just like before, he broke out of another tackle, then another one, and slipped away to pick up the first down.

Sellers, who ran for 25 yards and a touchdown, made it 16 yards on the third-down play. It gave South Carolina a fresh set of downs and later put it in a position to kneel out the clock and finish off the win.

Copeland still had a solid game with five tackles, one tackle for loss and 0.5 sack. But even he had his struggles in facing the redshirt sophomore quarterback.

“I’m going to give respect where respect is due. I’m not even trying to glaze,” Copeland said. “This dude is strong as heck, bro. Then I got up and tried to chase him. He’s fast as heck, too.”

Sellers had a strong performance to open the season, finishing 12-for-19 passing for 209 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 63 percent of his passes.

“Hey man, my respect goes to LaNorris, bro. He’s strong as heck,” Copeland said. “My respect to South Carolina. They’ve got a good squad. They’ll be pretty good this year.”

The Gamecocks will host South Carolina State in their home opener at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

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