By Nick Baumgardner, Dane Brugler and Sam Khan Jr.<\/p>\n
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers will return to South Carolina for the 2026 season, according to multiple reports Saturday, a decision that could cause a significant ripple effect throughout both college football and the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old Sellers has thrown for 2,437 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions and has rushed for 270 yards and five TDs as a redshirt sophomore. That rushing total is down significantly from Sellers\u2019 breakout 2024 season (674 yards), in which he helped South Carolina to a 9-4 record and\u00a0 top-20 finish. This season, while playing behind a porous offensive line<\/a>, Sellers and his team were not able to build on that success. The Gamecocks finished just 4-8, including a 1-7 mark in SEC play.<\/p>\n Even so, The Athletic\u2019s NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler recently had Sellers ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft class<\/a>, although Brugler noted in a mock draft earlier this month that Sellers was \u201cexpected to return to school.\u201d<\/p>\n Retaining their star QB is a huge boon for South Carolina, which obviously will be aiming to turn around its fortunes next season. It\u2019s a setback, however, for schools hoping to target Sellers in the transfer portal and for any NFL teams crossing their fingers for added depth in the upcoming draft class.<\/p>\n NFL Draft impact<\/p>\n Despite a mostly disappointing 2025 campaign, Sellers was still in the first-round mix for the 2026 NFL Draft, because of his impressive skill set for a 20-year-old QB. However, returning to college always was the most likely outcome. Seemingly, the bigger question was: Would Sellers stay home with the Gamecocks or come to the conclusion that a different situation was best for him?<\/p>\n We don\u2019t know how much of a push (if any) programs such as Miami, LSU or others with a perceived need at quarterback made for Sellers. But it is fair to assume that South Carolina pitched a plan to surround Sellers with a better situation in 2026. Newly hired offensive coordinator Kendal Briles doesn\u2019t have a track record of developing quarterbacks for the NFL, but his proven ability to build offensive structure around the strengths of the quarterback is a positive first step.<\/p>\n More importantly, however, the Gamecocks must upgrade the talent around Sellers for this to work. Let\u2019s hope for Sellers\u2019 sake that they don\u2019t blow their entire NIL budget on the quarterback alone.<\/p>\n When studying the Gamecocks\u2019 offense this past season, it felt like Sellers was the entire team. That\u2019s not to absolve the QB from all the issues South Carolina faced offensively, but the blocking (specifically, the pass protection) and inconsistency from the pass catchers felt like anchors. How can the offensive infrastructure evolve in a way that means it doesn\u2019t ask the quarterback to pull a rabbit out of his helmet on every play?<\/p>\n NFL scouts still view Sellers as a talent who ultimately can become a top-five pick. Time will tell if South Carolina pushes the right buttons to help him realize that potential. \u2014\u00a0Brugler<\/p>\n LET IT FLY, LANORRIS! pic.twitter.com\/aHs4S2CAj5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 South Carolina Football (@GamecockFB) November 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n More on Sellers\u2019 scouting report<\/p>\n Sellers was the most physically intriguing quarterback who could have joined the 2026 NFL Draft, even if he\u2019s probably not ready for the league just yet. The decision to go back to school for another year feels like a wise one for the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder, as his tantalizing gifts aren\u2019t going anywhere. He needs more work as a pocket passer before we can call him ready to lead an NFL team.<\/p>\n There is so much to like here, though, and not just athletically. Sellers has shown great improvement during his time at South Carolina with regard to his processing, pocket awareness and overall consistency. The problem in 2025, as Dane mentioned above, was that it became difficult to determine whether Sellers\u2019 struggles statistically were because of his play or a lack of help. He constantly had to scramble for his life, without any type of consistent run game to take the heat off of him. The offense he played in was a Cheesecake Factory situation \u2014 big menu, no signature dishes, empty calories.<\/p>\n If South Carolina can find a way to help Sellers, he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft. He\u2019s that gifted. If it\u2019s more of the same next season, however, we\u2019ll be talking about a similar problem in trying to evaluate him. \u2014\u00a0Nick Baumgardner, NFL draft analyst<\/p>\n What this means for the transfer portal<\/p>\n There were quarterback-needy schools that were believed to be interested in targeting Sellers, had he entered the transfer portal. Miami, which will lose sixth-year senior Carson Beck to exhausted eligibility, was one of them. The Hurricanes have had great success with transfer quarterbacks in recent years, taking in Beck, Cam Ward and D\u2019Eriq King.<\/p>\n With Sellers staying at South Carolina and Cal freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele announcing last week that he\u2019s returning to Cal<\/a>, two of the quarterbacks who would have drawn significant transfer-portal interest are off the market before the portal opens on Jan. 2.<\/p>\n There are some talented quarterbacks who will be available. Notre Dame\u2019s Kenny Minchey and Old Dominion\u2019s Colton Joseph both intend to enter the portal<\/a>, and Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt has been widely expected to enter since news surfaced in November<\/a> that his camp was pursuing offers from interested programs. But Sellers and Sagapolutele staying put makes the quarterback market thinner at the top, and there will be a lot of demand among Power 4 teams.<\/p>\n And even though Sellers\u2019 2025 season didn\u2019t quite live up to lofty preseason expectations, there\u2019s still optimism that he can realize his immense potential. He\u2019ll be in a new offense, as Briles will bring a veer-and-shoot style that spawned at Baylor more than a decade ago and has spread throughout the sport. That scheme should fit Sellers\u2019 dual-threat skill set well and set him up for a strong 2026.<\/p>\n