{"id":134201,"date":"2025-06-16T11:21:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T11:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/134201\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T11:21:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T11:21:13","slug":"how-lanorris-sellers-a-qb-no-one-knew-a-year-ago-became-projected-top-5-nfl-draft-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/134201\/","title":{"rendered":"How LaNorris Sellers, a QB no one knew a year ago, became projected top-5 NFL Draft pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

LaNorris Sellers\u2019 first college start left South Carolina fans wondering if the former unheralded quarterback recruit could handle life in the SEC. The opponent was Old Dominion. Trailing 19-16 in the fourth quarter, LaNorris misfired while throwing downfield on a third-and-3, passing up a 5-yard out route near midfield, drawing some groans. The Gamecocks lined up to go for it, but a false start by a freshman left tackle snuffed out that idea, which garnered loud boos. South Carolina\u2019s defense responded, forcing a fumble inside Old Dominion\u2019s 10 before LaNorris barrelled in on a three-yard touchdown run that secured a 23-19 win.<\/p>\n

His passing numbers: 10 of 23 for 114 yards.<\/p>\n

LaNorris\u2019 father, Norris, said his biggest fear was that \u201cthe blogs would crush him\u201d if and when his son struggled. And sure enough, LaNorris saw the criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201c(LaNorris) called me and said, \u2018Yo, people are killing me on Twitter,\u2019\u201d said then-South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, now the head coach at Appalachian State. \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019ve been an offensive coordinator for nine years. They\u2019re gonna kill you and me every week, but don\u2019t worry about it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Hey, I was nervous.\u2019 And I said it\u2019s OK to be nervous. You played in front of 80,000 people in a program that you grew up watching. He grew up real fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ups and downs of LaNorris\u2019 early starts mimic how he arrived in Columbia, S.C. Head coach Shane Beamer can vividly recall a summer day in 2022 during his program\u2019s high school 7-on-7 camp. The biggest name there was one-time 2024 No. 1 prospect Jadyn Davis, a senior quarterback who, as a 13-year-old, had been offered scholarships by Alabama and Georgia.<\/p>\n

Beamer liked him a lot, he said, but as he watched Davis and another quarterback, he said there was \u201czero doubt in my mind, the best quarterback in the camp was LaNorris Sellers,\u201d a three-star recruit from Florence, S.C., that the Gamecocks had not offered.<\/p>\n

It baffled LaNorris\u2019 high school coach, Drew Marlowe, whose faith in LaNorris kept him motivated after his 2-6 coaching debut at South Florence High in 2020. LaNorris had ideal size and athleticism and was also a terrific student, but Beamer said that South Carolina still wanted to see a little bit of his senior film. True to his word, Beamer watched \u2014 or more like marveled at \u2014 LaNorris\u2019 film every Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy gosh, how many times can a guy throw \u20184 Verticals\u2019 for a touchdown because he did it like five times a game?\u201d Beamer remembered. Still, he said, it was midway through LaNorris\u2019 senior season in 2022 before the program finally offered him a scholarship. \u201cI\u2019d love to sit here and tell you, yeah, we knew it all along. But we didn\u2019t offer him until October of his senior year. And even then, it wasn\u2019t a slam dunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound quarterback, just 19 years old, who almost no one had heard of a year ago and who didn\u2019t get an offer from the Gamecocks until late in his senior year, is now projected to be a top-5 pick<\/a> in next year\u2019s NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

LaNorris Sellers, still just 19, has gone from unheralded three-star to potential first-rounder. (Michael Hickey \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Loggains, a former NFL offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins, arrived at South Carolina from Arkansas in December, about six weeks after the Gamecocks had offered LaNorris, who was committed to Syracuse at the time. Loggains watched LaNorris\u2019 tape and asked about him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey asked, \u2018Do you like him?\u2019 I was like, \u2018I love him,\u201d Loggains said. He loved that LaNorris \u2014 a big goal scorer as a high school soccer star \u2014 had great feet and that he\u2019d overcome setbacks, having bounced back from a season-ending chest injury the previous season.<\/p>\n

Loggains was even more impressed once he started hearing the questions the 17-year-old was asking: What Loggains believed in, scheme-wise; about other quarterbacks he\u2019d coached who were similarly-styled; about when and why you change protections; about footwork in the shotgun. Loggains also liked that, unlike almost every other recruit he\u2019d been talking to, LaNorris never asked about name, image and likeness.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis questions were very mature,\u201d Loggains said. \u201cI thought there was something special about his makeup. Seeing the talent was easy. I was wondering why we weren\u2019t recruiting him at Arkansas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gamecocks had a week until LaNorris planned to sign with Syracuse in 2022\u2019s early signing period in late December. LaNorris had flipped from Virginia to Syracuse when UVA quarterback coach Jason Beck and OC Robert Anae moved to Syracuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had built relationships with them,\u201d said Loggains. \u201cHe is very much about trust. He\u2019s not a young kid. He\u2019s watching. He\u2019s listening. He\u2019s very perceptive. He judges everything. What a blessing to be there at that time, having a superstar right underneath your nose.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaNorris\u2019 mother, Cheryl, implored her son to think carefully about his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom said, \u2018What happens if you go up there and that same coaching staff isn\u2019t there when you\u2019re there? I don\u2019t want you to go up there and get stuck so far away when you can stay home and play in the best conference,\u2019\u201d LaNorris recalled. \u201cAnd, they (Beck and Anae) were there for (only) six months after.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for someone so much about trust and relationships, telling Beck and Anae that he wasn\u2019t coming to Syracuse was one of the hardest things he\u2019s ever done. \u201cI was supposed to sign that Wednesday, but I felt so bad that I ended up pushing my signing back until late Friday,\u201d said LaNorris. \u201cI second-guessed myself a bunch in those three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

At South Carolina, LaNorris redshirted in 2023, sitting behind Spencer Rattler, who became like a big brother to him. Loggains prepped LaNorris as best he could for 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI threw Sellers out of practice like once a week,\u201d he said. In late September, after Rattler had gone 18 of 20 against Mississippi State, LaNorris was put in for the two-minute drill and threw a pick on the first play. He ended up getting the boot.<\/p>\n

LaNorris was determined to bounce back. Every morning, he came into the office at 6:15 with his notebook and his breakfast and would watch tape with Loggains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew Sellers would be the quarterback in \u201924,\u201d Loggains said. \u201cI wanted to callus him, be really hard on him, and see if he could take it. If he was immature, pouting, throwing his helmet, then you find a transfer portal kid. There were transfer kids available, who were good kids who wanted to come after Spencer left. But Sellers didn\u2019t flinch. I knew he was gonna be able to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaNorris, who from an early age aspired to be an architect, also aspired to be like his regional NFL team\u2019s former starting quarterback: Cam Newton.<\/p>\n

LaNorris\u2019 dad, Norris, a truck driver, is a big Carolina Panthers fan. \u201cI would tell him he plays just like Cam and he kind of looked like him,\u201d said Norris. \u201cI think that gave him the mindset: If (Cam) can do it, I can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaNorris became such a fan that as soon as he learned to write in cursive, he wrote Newton a letter. He was 11.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t remember what I wrote,\u201d LaNorris said, \u201cbut I imagine it was something cringey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings me this letter when I\u2019m in the kitchen,\u201d Cheryl recalled. \u201cIt was the typical kid stuff: \u2018I\u2019m your biggest fan. I want to be like you when I grow up.\u2019\u201d She chuckled. \u201cI didn\u2019t send it to him. I kept it.\u201d<\/p>\n

(\u201cShe never mailed it out?\u201d LaNorris said.\u00a0 \u201cShe told me she\u2019d mailed it out!\u201d)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At 11, LaNorris Sellers penned a fan letter to then-Panthers QB Cam Newton. (Courtesy of the Sellers family)<\/p>\n

LaNorris practiced hard from a young age. When he entered sixth grade, he began working with a private quarterback coach, Ramon Robinson, whom LaNorris said has been \u201csuper important\u201d in his development. His parents drove him all over to sync up with Robinson for training on weekends in the offseason: to South Florence, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Greenville, Atlanta.<\/p>\n

The hard work was paying off. When Marlowe had thoughts of resigning at South Florence, he realized he had a special player in LaNorris \u2014 even if almost no college coaches realized it.<\/p>\n

Marlowe believed LaNorris struggled with confidence in high school \u2014 perhaps some of it stemming from his ranking as a three-star, or the lack of college buy-in. LaNorris\u2019 dream school was North Carolina. Marlowe reached out to them several times, he said, but the Tar Heels weren\u2019t interested.<\/p>\n

So before every game in LaNorris\u2019 senior season, Marlowe would grab him by his facemask and tell him, \u201cYou\u2019re the best player on this field. Believe it, and play like it!\u201d<\/p>\n

LaNorris can still hear those words: It\u2019s your team! Nobody else can stop you! \u201cHe did that all the time,\u201d LaNorris said. \u201cHe did it every game, and after a while, you start to believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Developing that mindset changed how LaNorris played.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you fully believe you\u2019re the best, you\u2019ll play like it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you second-guess yourself and you\u2019re not confident in yourself, you won\u2019t play to your full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

His senior year, he led the Bruins to the 4A state title, throwing 45 touchdowns and just two interceptions while running for more than 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

LaNorris Sellers (16) saved his best for last during the Gamecocks\u2019 2024 rivalry game against No. 12 Clemson. (Ken Ruinard\/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

When LaNorris struggled against Old Dominion, he conceded it was hard to block out all the outside noise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not really any way to escape it, whether it\u2019s from YouTube, TikTok or texting me stuff like that,\u201d he said. \u201cI needed to learn from (that game) and just get better from it. Don\u2019t let it linger because if I did, it would\u2019ve carried over to the rest of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaNorris responded with a cleaner performance the following week in his SEC road debut, completing 10 of 14 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-6 romp at Kentucky. He was even more impressive a week later against LSU, when he broke off a 75-yard touchdown run. He did, however, suffer a high ankle sprain right before halftime in a back-and-forth game that LSU rallied to win 36-33.<\/p>\n

South Carolina played its worst game of the season coming off a bye week after LSU, losing 27-3 to Ole Miss. Loggains said LaNorris probably shouldn\u2019t have played because of his ankle: \u201cHe gritted through it. They beat the crap out of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Carolina was 3-3 at midseason, having dropped two of its previous three. That\u2019s when LaNorris, despite playing behind a porous offensive line, and the defense took over. The Gamecocks won the final six games of the regular season, and LaNorris saved his best performance for the finale rivalry game,<\/a> at No. 12 Clemson.<\/p>\n

He ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns to lead a 17-14 comeback victory. LaNorris\u2019 wizardry as a runner gutted Clemson, starting with a dazzling 38-yard run before powering through the entire Clemson front four on the game\u2019s second play. He capped things off with a 20-yard touchdown scamper, bursting past and then around the defense on a third-and-16 in the game\u2019s final minute.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the game, I jumped over the wall to run on the field,\u201d said Cheryl. \u201cThen, I turned around to see what looked like a million people running. I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Oh my God, I made a mistake!\u2019 I\u2019m scared, but by then, it was too late. I just had to run. But Coach D-Lo (Loggains) found me and helped me barrel through people to get to LaNorris, who gave me the biggest hug.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaNorris admitted that beating Clemson in Death Valley had even more sweetness because the Tigers never offered him. \u201cI went to their camp. I felt like I had a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n

NFL draft analysts \u2014 and rival coaches \u2014 are now all-in on LaNorris. The Athletic\u2019s Dane Brugler projects LaNorris going second <\/a>in 2026. One mock<\/a> at CBS Sports also has him going No. 2; ESPN has him going<\/a> No. 4.<\/p>\n

Loggains, who spent two decades in the NFL, said it\u2019s not shocking to see folks talking about LaNorris as a potential top pick. \u201cThis kid has created an unbelievable buzz of splash plays. There\u2019s some intermediate accuracy stuff that he\u2019s gonna improve on naturally. From an arm standpoint, there\u2019s no question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, LaNorris\u2019 greatest superpower is his ability to extend plays because of his quick feet. But for Beamer, LaNorris\u2019s most impressive trait is his humility.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t let any of this stuff go to his head,\u201d Beamer said. \u201cNo matter what\u2019s happening, whether it\u2019s after the Clemson game, when he made a play that will go down as one of the greatest plays in South Carolina history when he ran for the game-winning touchdown on a third-and-16, or it\u2019s a Saturday morning in the middle of a spring practice, he\u2019s the same. That is a great quality to have in life, but especially as a quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, big endorsements in the NIL have flowed in fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe basically got out of a Chevrolet Malibu into a Mercedes CLE,\u201d Norris said. Later this month, LaNorris will close on a home in Columbia. He\u2019s also encouraged his father to get a new truck, as Norris is still driving his 2007 GMC Yukon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018For what? Every mile on that truck is all those memories of driving you to camps, to coaches,\u2019\u201d Norris said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

Endorsement deals aren\u2019t the only offers that have flowed in for LaNorris. His dad said other schools reached out to see if he was interested in transferring, and the biggest offer he heard was for $8 million for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was offered all kinds of crazy numbers,\u201d Norris said. \u201cI told him he could say, I\u2019m gonna stay or I\u2019m gonna go. By my two cents: It was to get into college on a scholarship, play ball, get our degree and go on about our business. This NIL deal came later. We didn\u2019t come here to make money. We came here to get our education, play ball, and with schools calling, we\u2019re not gonna jump ship because they\u2019re offering more than what we\u2019re getting. If it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re 19,\u201d Norris added, \u201cYou don\u2019t need ($8 million). You\u2019re in a great spot. There were several talks, but it never really crossed his mind (to leave). It\u2019s a challenge with colleges offering younger guys that kind of money. Who\u2019s gonna say no to $8 million for two years? They\u2019re gonna be swayed if you don\u2019t have the right people in your corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he was worried about LaNorris leaving, Beamer said with some people he might, but that he doesn\u2019t with LaNorris. \u201cI do realize that there is a money aspect to it, but I know he realizes he has a really good situation here, on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been playing football all of my life for free,\u201d LaNorris added.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s made of the right stuff,\u201d said Beamer. \u201cHe\u2019s got a great family around him. He knows what he means to this state. LaNorris has a chance to leave a legacy here.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb \/ The Athletic; John Byrum, David Rosenblum \/ Icon Sportswire \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LaNorris Sellers\u2019 first college start left South Carolina fans wondering if the former unheralded quarterback recruit could handle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[331,7,6,15,4278],"class_list":{"0":"post-134201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-college-football","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-draft","12":"tag-south-carolina-gamecocks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114692783114965494","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}