Scouting Report On South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers

With his signature glasses and a big smile, LaNorris Sellers took college football by storm last year as a redshirt freshman. Staying in his home state of South Carolina, Sellers was a three-star high school recruit and won the quarterback battle during spring practices. Exploding onto the scene with 2,534 passing yards and 18 touchdowns despite missing a game due to injury, he added 674 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, battling through some lingering injuries near the end of the year to deliver the Gamecocks to some impressive wins.

At 6-3, 240 pounds, Sellers is as athletic as they come, with the frame NFL evaluators are looking for. As a passer, his biggest strength is his arm talent. He’s got a rocket for an arm, and he can comfortably make every NFL throw. Check this one out:

Pinpoint throw from South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers while being taken to the ground. Really shows off his arm strength here.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T00:56:30.324Z

Sellers gets clobbered by the pass rush as he releases this ball, so he’s not able to plant and drive through his lower half. Just off arm strength alone, he throws a perfect pass 40 yards downfield into the outstretched arms of his receiver, before the safety can come over to break it up. There are NFL starters right now that can’t make that throw. Here’s another example:

Just a casual 60-yard pass from South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers. No big deal.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:02:01.542Z

Nothing complicated on this one. Just a casual 60-yard throw. Steps up into the pocket, plants his back foot, and flicks his wrist to deliver a dot to his receiver downfield. But distance isn’t the only measure of arm strength. Observe:

Textbook NFL throw from South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers. Classic Cover 4 shell from the defense, drives the ball up the seam to hit the in-breaking receiver. Gets it over the linebacker and delivers in a spot only his guy could get it.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:06:04.452Z

The defense here is running a zone coverage, Cover 4 to be precise. Sellers completes the play-action fake and drives the ball on a line up the seam, hitting the in-breaking route at the perfect time. He manages to get it over the lurking linebacker, without lofting it too much so it hangs up there and allows the safety to make a play on it. This type of throw is the bread-and-butter of many modern NFL offenses.

It’s not just raw power with Sellers, not by any means. For a player as young as him, he has some remarkably refined quarterbacking skills. Take this play for example:

Beautiful throw from South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers. Hits the hole on the opposite sideline with enough velocity to beat the closing safety while also having enough touch to loft it over the corner and make it an easy catch for his receiver. A++

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:04:10.866Z

This pass is thrown with both zip and touch. Sellers is throwing to the opposite sideline, and he hits his receiver perfectly. The ball beats the defender to the receiver, but it’s got just the right velocity to be an easy catch, with the receiver getting down in bounds for a completed catch.

While he certainly has a lot of developing yet to do, Sellers doesn’t get enough credit for how advanced he already is. He completed 65.6 percent of his passes last year, a perfectly solid number. Completion percentage doesn’t tell the whole story, but he’s been tagged with the “raw, athletic, inaccurate” label too often, and that’s just not accurate.

South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers is nice. Perfect ball placement on the go route, hits his receiver in stride where he doesn't have to adjust much to the pass.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:08:29.819Z

It’s true that Sellers’ deep-ball accuracy was a bit hit-or-miss last year, but this is just one example of many of how good he can be in that area. This is a true dime down the sideline, perfectly placed, and Sellers’ footwork is about as good as it gets there.

Or take this play for example. In a two-minute drill, Sellers dodges the rush in the pocket, resets his base, and fires a perfect pass that lets his receiver gain yards after the catch. Watch:

Two-minute situation. South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers avoids the rush, steps up in the pocket, resets his base, and fires a ball on a rope to his receiver in stride, allowing for maximum yards after the catch.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:19:24.927Z

Sellers’ pocket movement and awareness doesn’t get enough credit. Being able to reset on the move and still deliver accurate passes is an invaluable skill in the NFL, and Sellers gets an A+ in that category. Here he is in action:

Rolling to your left as a right-handed QB isn't easy. South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers beats the rush and squares his hips beautifully on this throw.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:09:34.738Z

Despite being known as a runner, Sellers wants to be a passer first and foremost. He keeps his eyes downfield on the move, only running when he’s out of options or sees a clear runway. On this play, he escapes to his left and is able to turn his hips and deliver an accurate ball. The receiver was wide open, but Sellers made sure he didn’t miss him by being sloppy with his mechanics. That’s advanced stuff.

Of course, Sellers is the most dangerous rushing threat in this quarterback class. Check out this 75-yard touchdown run against LSU:

Nothing quite like watching your QB break through the line and outrun the entire defense. South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers is electric as a designed runner and has some moves in the open field.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:11:41.785Z

Nothing fancy here, just Sellers making a read and outrunning the entire LSU defense. Quite simple, really. His speed in the open field is eye-catching, and he’s got some serious strength and wiggle to his game. Perhaps his most famous play of the season:

South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers' most famous play of the season. With everything on the line against his team's biggest rival, watch him turn on the jets and burn through the defense. Just makes them look silly at the end.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:13:12.494Z

This sealed the Clemson game. The Tigers defenders can barely keep up with him as he weaves his way through the defense. Unlike the previous play, this was not a designed run, but a scramble. He saw an opening and took it, cutting back at the last second to walk into the end zone untouched.

If the last play was his most well-known of the season, this is the play that perfectly encapsulates all the strengths and weaknesses of Sellers’ game right now:

If there was one play that summed up South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers as a prospect, it would be this one. Holds onto the ball too long and gets himself into trouble, but rips free from a sack to deliver a perfect pass on the run for a huge gain.

— Ethan Woodie (@ethanwoodienfl.bsky.social) 2025-08-13T01:07:24.959Z

There’s a lot going on here. Sellers holds the ball too long in the pocket and gets himself into massive trouble, risking a big sack or potentially a fumble inside his own five-yard line. Instead, he breaks free from a defensive lineman, scrambles to his left, and throws an excellent pass downfield for a huge gain.

Sacks are a real problem for Sellers as it stands. He took 33 last year, which is a simply unacceptable number. For him, it’s not that he can’t see the field or make reads fast enough. He falls for the same trap many young, athletic quarterbacks fall for: he tries to play hero on every snap, and doesn’t know when to throw it away and live to fight another down. This will have to improve if he wants to succeed in the NFL, but there’s nothing on Sellers’ tape that concerns me long-term about his sack totals.

Beyond taking fewer sacks and cleaning up his deep accuracy a little bit, I’d also like to see Sellers take fewer dumb risks with the football. He had 19 turnover-worthy plays last year, with a turnover-worthy play rate of almost five percent. His big-time throw percentage was also high, so you can live with it, but it’s also fixable. As Sellers learns through experience which throws he can’t always get away with, he can clean this up.

I have a firm first-round grade on Sellers going into the season, and he can push his way into the top 10 and even the discussion for the No. 1 overall pick if he builds on last season. He has all the traits and a lot of skill, too. Between his unparalleled rushing ability, arm strength, middle-field accuracy, and mechanics under pressure, there is so much to like on his tape. Sellers is my QB3 for the 2026 class, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he climbs higher.