With 16 days until South Carolina football kicks off 2025 season, a look at No. 16, LaNorris Sellers

South Carolina football will take the field for the first time in the 2025 season on August 31st when the Gamecocks take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. That means kickoff is just 16 days away.

While the rest of the players in this countdown have been former Gamecocks, the No. 16 necessitates a look at the current roster. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers posted one of the best seasons in program history as a redshirt freshman in 2024. With a strong showing this fall, he could go do in the history books as one of the most legendary South Carolina stars of all time.

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Because of a high school injury, Sellers was a bit of an underrated player from South Florence High School. The dual-threat quarterback had a ridiculous senior season for the Bruins, though, flying up the recruiting rankings. When the Palmetto State native made a last-second flip from Syracuse to the home-state team, he was a four-star prospect.

In 2023, Sellers redshirted and sat behind starter Spencer Rattler. Even in limited action, he flashed brilliance. Sellers tossed a long touchdown in his first game action and had a long touchdown run against Vanderbilt.

Expectations were relatively high for the Gamecock signal-caller heading into 2024, and somehow, he outplayed them all. Sellers was good through his first four games but flipped a switch following a strong road effort against Alabama. Carolina didn’t win, but Sellers played well and led a near-comeback in Tuscaloosa.

He led South Carolina to six straight wins to close the regular season, including the best single-month individual performance in USC history. In November, Sellers led his team to a perfect finish (including four wins over ranked opponents) and accounted for 16 total touchdowns, setting a new program record.

Sellers’ top performances came against Clemson (328 total yards and two touchdown runs, including the game-winner in the final two minutes), Missouri (398 total yards and five passing touchdowns), and Texas A&M (350 total yards and three touchdowns). He earned some form of National Player of the Week recognition for each game.

As he became the first All-SEC quarterback ever to play for South Carolina, Sellers also became the third freshman in college football history ever to throw for 2500 yards and run for 500 more, joining Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel and Alabama’s Jalen Hurts.

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The 2025 season comes with high expectations for LaNorris Sellers. According to most betting markets and prognosticators, he is a top 10 candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Several preseason All-American teams have featured Sellers, and virtually every preseason All-SEC squad has done the same.

Because of his redshirt year in 2023, Sellers will be a draft-eligible sophomore next offseason. Some NFL Draft analysts believe he is a lock to become a first-round pick. If everything goes as well as some predict, he could even challenge for the top overall pick.

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