South Carolina offensive line looks to provide LaNorris Sellers with more time to throw

Entering the season, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers was seen as one of a handful of favorites for the Heisman Trophy. Through two weeks, the hype hasn’t delivered quite to that level on the field, though it still could.

Part of the slower start has been a lack of space for Sellers in the pocket. Against Virginia Tech, the Gamecocks gave up four sacks. Last week against South Carolina State, it was two more. Overall, Sellers has taken a sack on 12 percent of his drop-backs.

But the offensive line is well aware of the early-season struggles. One thing the big men agree on? The need to communicate.

“To be an effective offensive line, you have to play five as one,” right tackle Cason Henry said. “Any level of football, that’s true. I think communication is probably our biggest thing right now, from LaNorris to Boaz and Boaz out. There were like six or seven times that I saw in the game where we weren’t getting the calls.”

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The Gamecocks gave up four sacks in last year’s season opener against Old Dominion. The next week against Kentucky? Another four sacks. But there’s a precedent for possible success.

South Carolina’s offensive line improved as the season went on, coinciding with a six-game winning streak for the Gamecocks.

Center Boaz Stanley knows, however, that a 2-0 start doesn’t mean South Carolina can rest on its laurels.

“(The missed calls) go back to what we were just saying, making sure that we can hear everything. And if we’re not sure, I’ve got to sit down on the ball and get everybody on the same page,” Stanley said. “If we don’t all know what the play is, just ‘Hey, what’s the play?’ and we can make sure that we got the correct play from LaNorris and we’re not running something that’s completely wrong.”

While a raucous crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium can vex opposing defenses, sometimes it can have the same effect on the South Carolina offense.

“It’s loud, you know what I mean?” Henry said. “Sometimes the band’s really loud … you can’t really hear that much, but we really need to be on the same page, especially at home, when we’re not in an away atmosphere. Today, especially, we worked on communication a lot. Lonnie’s got a great game plan coming together to let us play downhill.”

Sellers reportedly requested more designed quarterback runs from offensive coordinator Mike Shula, but it remains to be seen if that request will be granted. Through the air, despite the sacks, Sellers hasn’t thrown a pick. He has, however, only averaged 168.5 passing yards per game. An improved offensive line could help him improve those numbers.

The battle of lines between Vanderbilt’s defense and the Gamecocks’ offensive line will, win or lose, play a pivotal role in deciding the contest Saturday night.

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