LaNorris Sellers, Ashford Ready For QB Battle: "They're Both Freak Athletes"
By: Alan Cole - Gamecockscoop
After two straight off-seasons with calm at the position, South Carolina football is back into the troughs of a quarterback battle.
Returning redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers has the tag as favorite, and deservingly so. He appeared in three games for the Gamecocks in 2023, completing all four pass attempts for 86 yards with two touchdowns and rushing for a 36-yard touchdown against Vanderbilt. He has the tools, and he knows the scheme.
“Before I hopped in the portal I watched LaNorris,” Louisville transfer wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce said. “You look at his stats, he’s perfect. I already know what he can bring to the table. I watched him play through high school at South FLorence, I played right there at Dillon. I know what LaNorris is about. I know he’ll do the right things and is a hard worker.”
But one of Shane Beamer’s offseason priorities was to add to the quarterback room. Spencer Rattler departed for the NFL and two transfer portal losses — Tanner Bailey and Colten Gauthier — left the situation alarmingly thin. For most of the transfer window South Carolina only had two full-time scholarship quarterbacks on its roster for next season, Sellers and incoming true freshman Dante Reno.
Enter Robby Ashford.
The 6-foot-3 Auburn transfer has played in 22 SEC games, accounted for 21 total touchdowns and 2,685 all-purpose yards and is here to fight.
“I’ve never wanted to be a guy who walks in and gets anything handed to them,” Ashford said. “I want to be a guy who comes in here and earns the trust and respect of my teammates and the coaches. It’s just a great opportunity to compete.”
Experience tips towards Ashford, but he readily admits he is an unfinished product. He has already proven himself to be a prolific runner and a weapon at the goal line in short-yardage packages with 927 rushing yards on 199 college attempts. He has the frame to be a load to handle, a potential to be used in a similar way Sellers was as Rattler’s backup last season.
But accuracy and turnovers have prevented him from seriously ascending as an SEC starter. Through two seasons he has completed a shade under half of his career passing attempts. THe grim totals read 137-of-277 (49.4 percent). And nine interceptions.
Pushed out of the picture on the Plains with potential brimming, he entered the transfer portal seeking a fresh start. A new opportunity, and a different approach to his shortcomings.
“I know he can develop me as a quarterback, something I haven’t gotten with my previous coaching staffs,” Ashford said on offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. “Just somebody to develop me, really just teach me the little ins and outs. You know a lot, but there’s always more you can learn, and I know I can learn that from coach DLo. That’s what brought me to South Carolina.”
By the Aug. 31 season opener against Old Dominion, there will be a starter. But right now it is an open conversation five weeks out from spring ball, and it is the type of competition which can help the team in the long run.
Beamer and his staff will not want to lunge to the extremes of his first season, where injuries forced the Gamecocks into using four different signal-callers, but they do have options. If a quarterback loses a helmet for a play, there is an option. If a specific package might call for a running quarterback, Ashford is more than capable.
And if worst comes to worst and there is an injury to the start, the Gamecocks can enter the year without having to rely on a true freshman as the backup.
All of that is for the fall. For now, everything comes back to the competition.
“They’re both freak athletes,” Ball State transfer tight end Brady Hunt said. “I think it’ll be really big for us kind of having that 1-2 punch, or however you want to look at it. Having both of those options, when you have two good options it feels like you can’t lose.”
Spring practice will start on Mar. 19.
By: Alan Cole - Gamecockscoop
After two straight off-seasons with calm at the position, South Carolina football is back into the troughs of a quarterback battle.
Returning redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers has the tag as favorite, and deservingly so. He appeared in three games for the Gamecocks in 2023, completing all four pass attempts for 86 yards with two touchdowns and rushing for a 36-yard touchdown against Vanderbilt. He has the tools, and he knows the scheme.
“Before I hopped in the portal I watched LaNorris,” Louisville transfer wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce said. “You look at his stats, he’s perfect. I already know what he can bring to the table. I watched him play through high school at South FLorence, I played right there at Dillon. I know what LaNorris is about. I know he’ll do the right things and is a hard worker.”
But one of Shane Beamer’s offseason priorities was to add to the quarterback room. Spencer Rattler departed for the NFL and two transfer portal losses — Tanner Bailey and Colten Gauthier — left the situation alarmingly thin. For most of the transfer window South Carolina only had two full-time scholarship quarterbacks on its roster for next season, Sellers and incoming true freshman Dante Reno.
Enter Robby Ashford.
The 6-foot-3 Auburn transfer has played in 22 SEC games, accounted for 21 total touchdowns and 2,685 all-purpose yards and is here to fight.
“I’ve never wanted to be a guy who walks in and gets anything handed to them,” Ashford said. “I want to be a guy who comes in here and earns the trust and respect of my teammates and the coaches. It’s just a great opportunity to compete.”
Experience tips towards Ashford, but he readily admits he is an unfinished product. He has already proven himself to be a prolific runner and a weapon at the goal line in short-yardage packages with 927 rushing yards on 199 college attempts. He has the frame to be a load to handle, a potential to be used in a similar way Sellers was as Rattler’s backup last season.
But accuracy and turnovers have prevented him from seriously ascending as an SEC starter. Through two seasons he has completed a shade under half of his career passing attempts. THe grim totals read 137-of-277 (49.4 percent). And nine interceptions.
Pushed out of the picture on the Plains with potential brimming, he entered the transfer portal seeking a fresh start. A new opportunity, and a different approach to his shortcomings.
“I know he can develop me as a quarterback, something I haven’t gotten with my previous coaching staffs,” Ashford said on offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. “Just somebody to develop me, really just teach me the little ins and outs. You know a lot, but there’s always more you can learn, and I know I can learn that from coach DLo. That’s what brought me to South Carolina.”
By the Aug. 31 season opener against Old Dominion, there will be a starter. But right now it is an open conversation five weeks out from spring ball, and it is the type of competition which can help the team in the long run.
Beamer and his staff will not want to lunge to the extremes of his first season, where injuries forced the Gamecocks into using four different signal-callers, but they do have options. If a quarterback loses a helmet for a play, there is an option. If a specific package might call for a running quarterback, Ashford is more than capable.
And if worst comes to worst and there is an injury to the start, the Gamecocks can enter the year without having to rely on a true freshman as the backup.
All of that is for the fall. For now, everything comes back to the competition.
“They’re both freak athletes,” Ball State transfer tight end Brady Hunt said. “I think it’ll be really big for us kind of having that 1-2 punch, or however you want to look at it. Having both of those options, when you have two good options it feels like you can’t lose.”
Spring practice will start on Mar. 19.
