Mike Shula shapes South Carolina offense, LaNorris Sellers for 2025 season

In December, after the departure of offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, who left to become the head coach at Appalachian State, Mike Shula got the keys to South Carolina’s offense.

His first ride behind the wheel ended in a loss to Illinois in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. Now, he gears up for his first full season as the Gamecocks’ offensive coordinator.

As Shula prepares for 2025, his pre-existing relationship with his star quarterback helps streamline the process.

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“But I think really, not just with LaNorris (Sellers), but the whole offense,” head coach Shane Beamer said during SEC Media Days. “Because LaNorris and Coach Shula had a good relationship last year, because he was in every quarterback meeting, he was on the sidelines with him, talking during games, and looking at the iPad and all that as well. So they had a good relationship.”

Sellers and Shula have spent the offseason working on growing the young quarterback’s skills as a passer. While his passing is a priority, Shula doesn’t want to see Sellers run less.

Sellers rushed for 674 yards in 2024 with seven touchdowns. He passed for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns en route to being named the FWAA Offensive Freshman of the Year.

“I just want to be able to do both on a more consistent basis, I would say. I can throw the ball, and I can run the ball,” Sellers said. “… Cleaning up footwork and making better throws from the pocket. … If I know I can affect both (the running game and the passing game), that would be better. I’m working to perfect one more part of my game.”

Sellers believes Shula’s experience in the NFL coaching quarterbacks like Eli Manning and Cam Newton will help him a lot this season.

“Eli Manning was a pocket passer, so when we do that, we talk him. When we talk moving, we talk Cam,” Sellers said. “We do rapid fire, which is just like standing in one spot, throwing as fast as we can. We’re making sure we are hitching, not under ourselves but hitching up, forward, taking quick drops.”

Additionally, Shula’s experience as a former SEC quarterback himself brings a unique and positive perspective. Shula started from 1984-86 for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Schula’s scheme in 2025 is expected to be similar to Loggains. South Carolina ranked 48th in the nation in points per game in 2024 (30.5).

“Schematically, we haven’t changed a lot,” Beamer said. “But we’ve tweaked some things, certainly terminology-wise, and some of the stuff we’re doing in the run game and pass game. And hopefully, you know, streamline some things and make the whole offense better.”

One point of emphasis is reducing the number of fumbles committed by the Gamecock offense, mainly by Sellers, in 2024. Sellers led the nation in fumbles last season with 11.

Sellers knows that it’s an area he needs to improve in. When asked what he wants to improve the most, Sellers named ball security first.

Beamer believes Sellers’ ability to protect the ball will improve with experience. He doesn’t want to take away his ability to improvise offensively.

“So we went back after last season and said, okay, how can we maybe implement some new drills and some new things that we’re doing in practice, looking at how some of the focus happened last year,” Beamer said. “So we changed some drills to emphasize it and maybe teach it a little bit better, so we’ll see how that goes.”

Gamecock fans get their first chance to see Shula’s offense after a full offseason of work on Aug. 31 in the 2025 Aflac Kickoff against Virginia Tech.

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