LaNorris Sellers 'looked pretty dang good' in South Carolina debut
If there was any doubt on what kind of player South Carolina was getting in LaNorris Sellers, he put it to bed on the second throw of his career.
In for the first time during a blowout win over Furman, Sellers rolled out to his right and suddenly saw plenty of green grass to sprint through en route to a likely first down. But that wasn’t enough for him.
The Gamecocks’ four-star quarterback stopped and launched, firing a near-perfect 50-yard touchdown strike to Tyshawn Russell in what was a very good debut for the freshman.
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“I thought he looked pretty dang good, I don’t know about you. He’s awesome. He’s a tough kid. Running the ball, he’s a load to bring down. So he’s a weapon running the ball. That throw he had was pretty dang impressive,” Shane Beamer said.
“Dowell’s on the headphones just saying, ‘Run it, run it, run it.’ Then he rears back and throws that thing. I thought he was going to throw it into the Cockpit. Tyshawn Russell came out of nowhere and made that play.”
Sellers had been the talk of South Carolina spring practice this March and April, a highly-touted freshman who was turning heads once he arrived on campus.
But that talk died down during preseason camp with the attention turning to Spencer Rattler and backup Luke Doty. Sellers, though, finally got to make his debut Saturday and didn’t disappoint.
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He led two drives Saturday night, both ending in Gamecocks touchdowns, where he went a perfect 4-for-4 for 86 yards and found Nyck Harbor for a score on his second drive.
Sellers also ran twice for six yards.
“LaNorris is just a gamer. You saw it in the spring game. When he gets in there the moment’s not too big for him. He’s young,” Beamer said. “He made some mistakes and will continue to get better. I really didn’t have a chance to say anything to him. He came off the field after throwing that touchdown and I think giddy is the right word to use.”
While Sellers might be the standout from the win, there were plenty of other Gamecocks who made their South Carolina debut Saturday night.
Russell and Harbor caught their first touchdown passes, Djay Braswell and Mario Anderson each picked up their first carries and both Tree Babalade and Trovon Baugh saw time on the offensive line.
There were plenty of others who saw action, which is a positive for a relatively young South Carolina team still trying to find its footing.
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“It was awesome. We have a lot of good young players who will continue to get better each and every game. What I love is we had some elite high school juniors and seniors here tonight that were sitting down in the corner section by our tunnel and got to see those young freshmen go out there and make plays,” Beamer said.
“I couldn’t be more excited about how recruiting has gone to this point and the way it’s going right now. We’re a young team that will continue to get better. It’s exciting.”
What the plan for Sellers looks like moving forward is still up in the air. But the Gamecocks finally got to put on display what players talked about for months since he arrived on campus.
“I’m glad y’all got to see it,” TJ Sanders said, smiling.
