COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Few quarterbacks at South Carolina were as talented or impactful the past couple of decades as Spencer Rattler. Now, freshman LaNorris Sellers is ready to show he’s capable of leading the way like his good friend.
“My main goal is to win, just really win,” Sellers said. “Just bring the team along, bring the offense along, be really efficient.”
Sellers has plenty to live up to. Rattler spent his final two college seasons with the Gamecocks, throwing for 6,212 yards and 30 touchdowns. Behind Rattler, South Carolina pulled off a pair of landmark victories in 2022, defeating top 10 opponents in Tennessee and Clemson and essentially eliminating both teams from College Football Playoff contention.
Sellers certainly looks the part of a starting quarterback. At a solid 6-foot-3, 242 pounds, he was one of the top high school quarterbacks at South Florence High, about 90 miles from South Carolina’s campus, and picked the Gamecocks after collecting offers from programs like Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Sellers, 17 at the time, knew that meant a season on the bench as he watched and waited for whatever chance he might get. He appeared in three games, saving his redshirt, all when Rattler had thing well in hand for the Gamecocks.
Sellers said he was grateful for the time to grow and develop his high school game into one suited for the Southeastern Conference.
“I just really accepted that I would take the year to learn,” he said. “I felt like that would be better than being forced out there, thrown into the fire.”
It’s also a sign of Sellers putting the big picture ahead of the immediate chance for playing time, Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said.
Beamer remembers when he was an assistant coach at Oklahoma how then-Sooners’ starter, now Eagles starter, Jalen Hurts, did the same for a young Rattler there.
“So I think the opportunity to stay in state,” Beamer said. “I know everybody wants to play immediately and wants instant gratification, but he saw it as a year to get stronger and learn the offense and put himself in position to have a great 2024.”
Sellers had a strong spring and, instead of letting the situation linger into the fall, Beamer tagged him the starter. Sellers was glad for the vote of confidence and used it to fuel his workouts this summer.
None of that was a surprise to Rattler, who saw an attentive, heady player with leadership potential who did everything necessary to improve.
“He’s going to be a dog. He’s going to be the guy. Just physical, smart, super talented. He’s going to do some big things here,” said Rattler, a fifth-round NFL pick in camp with New Orleans.
Sellers still texts and talks with Rattler, conversations which range from friendly banter about their upcoming seasons to reminders from the now NFL passer about staying calm in difficult situations.
Rattler, Sellers said, taught the younger QB how to be confident in making decisions, both on and off the field.
Both feature arms strong enough to make almost every throw, although Sellers believes he’s a little bit more elusive than his friend, the one-time Big 12 championship quarterback who won a title with the Sooners in 2020.
“I’m a little bit faster than him,” Sellers said with a smile.
Sellers ran for 1,388 yards and 17 touchdowns in leading South Florence High to a state title two seasons ago.
Sellers believes he can use his speed as a weapon in his first year as a starter. In the end, like Rattler, Sellers wants to do what his team needs him to do to be successful. He knows that starts when South Carolina opens fall camp on Friday.
“I’m going to make mistakes,” Sellers said. “So I’ve just got to take everything and learn from it day by day.”
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