At South Carolina, Shane Beamer’s strength and conditioning staff has a comprehensive evaluation structure that includes placing grades on each player for a number of different metrics.
The grades for LaNorris Sellers further show how uncommon the star redshirt sophomore is from a physical perspective compared to most other quarterbacks.
“The dude has like all As for like his ratio of fat-to-muscle percentage and all these types of things,” a source told CBS Sports. “I’ve never seen a human being like this, let alone at quarterback.”
Those uncommon physical traits — along with the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Sellers running the 40-yard dash in either 4.4 or 4.5 seconds during testing this offseason depending on who you ask — factor into some of the strong recent feedback that CBS Sports has gotten from NFL scouts regarding Sellers as an emerging draft prospect.
While scouts have consistently mentioned LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik as the current top two quarterback prospects for next year’s NFL draft, there’s been something else that’s been consistent, too: Sellers coming up at No. 3.
“That’s exactly how I’ve got it — Nussmeier, then Cade and then Sellers third as like the wild card,” a scout told CBS Sports. “You don’t know which way it’s going to go yet, but if he hits, he’s going to be the first or second guy.”
“Wild card is a good way to put it,” another scout added. “High highs, low lows. Needs more consistency. … But I’d say it’s obvious he’s the third QB behind those two (Nussmeier and Klubnik).”
It goes beyond just the athleticism.
After modest passing numbers in his first four starts last year (an average of 139 passing yards per game, a completion rate of 58% and only two touchdown passes along with three interceptions), Sellers closed his redshirt freshman season with 16 touchdown passes, just four interceptions, an average of 247 passing yards per game and a completion rate of 69% in his final eight starts. That went along with posting 474 additional yards and four additional touchdowns as a runner.
“You thought he was maybe just a talented athlete playing quarterback, but you saw the obvious progression of him managing the game and keeping the ball out of harm’s way and leading them to drives,” an opposing SEC defensive coach told CBS Sports. “He just got better with his accuracy throwing the ball down the field and knowing where he needed to go with the ball and completing throws. And you did see the improvement. You knew he was a talented guy, but I thought we would have enough because we’ve seen other guys like him, but we (struggled with him). And I thought he did a good job of being whatever they needed him to be, whether that was as a runner or also a pocket passer. I think he adapted well throughout the course of the game or whatever the game plan was for the week.”
SEC QB rankings: Arch Manning, NFL Draft prospects Garrett Nussmeier and LaNorris Sellers lead the way
Brad Crawford
The continued growth in areas that go beyond physical ability is a big part of why South Carolina is so optimistic about Sellers entering the season. It’s also a large component of why the Class of 2023 three-star recruit is now firmly on the radar for NFL scouts as a first-round possibility.
After some early growing pains in these areas last year, Sellers improved with his processing, including pre-snap at the line of scrimmage, going through his progressions post-snap and also more seamlessly figuring out the best course of action when other teams brought pressure or adjusted from a coverage standpoint.
The growth has continued this offseason with help from new South Carolina offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula, who spent 16 years working in the NFL following his run as Alabama’s head coach.
“Coach Shula has really, really helped him,” a source said. “Coming out of spring ball, the processing has gotten so much better. That part really has improved so much that that’s going to be what people see on tape from an NFL scout perspective. The fans are going to see the electric 80-yard runs. But what you see too is also now being able to sit in the pocket, diagnose, not just go one, two and then take off but go one, two, three, four and then make a play.”
Sellers will be tested right away with South Carolina opening the season against a Power Four opponent, a matchup against Virginia Tech Aug. 31.
However, there will be plenty of other opportunities to impress scouts as well, including head-to-head showdowns against each of those two aforementioned quarterbacks that he could end up competing against to be the first or second QB selected in next year’s draft.