Scouting LaNorris Sellers: South Carolina quarterback similar to Daunte Culpepper

NFL.com analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah takes a "first look" at some of college football's top quarterbacks for 2025. This is the fourth entry in a series of scouting reports running in June and July.

As a three-star recruit, South Carolina didn’t offer a scholarship to quarterback LaNorris Sellers until the middle of his senior year, and he redshirted behind Spencer Rattler in his first season with the Gamecocks. Sellers’ career as a starter got off to a rocky start in 2024 -- he had to lead a fourth quarter comeback just to get past Old Dominion in the opener.

There were more bumps in the road after that game, including a 27-3 drubbing at home against Ole Miss, but something clicked for Sellers around midseason. He led his team to six consecutive victories to close out the regular season, putting an exclamation point on his first year as the starter with a 17-14 win at Clemson, when he ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He showed off his arm talent down the stretch as well, throwing for 300-plus yards twice.

He's gone from relative unknown to one of the most thrilling talents in the college game in the past year. Will he build off last season’s strong finish to position himself as one of the top quarterbacks available in the 2026 NFL Draft? After breaking down Sellers’ game tape from 2024, here is my initial scouting report.

Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 240 pounds (school measurements).

2024 statistics (12 games): 196-of-299 (65.6%) for 2,534 yards (8.5 per attempt) and 18 TDs with 7 INTs; 166 carries for 674 yards (4.1 average) and 7 TDs.

Game tape watched: vs. Mississippi (Oct. 5, 2024), vs. Missouri (Nov. 16, 2024), at Clemson (Nov. 30, 2024).

What I liked: Sellers is an exciting player to study. He has an intriguing blend of size, playmaking ability and arm talent. On the rare occasions when he does have time and space in the pocket, he is fundamentally sound in his footwork and displays a compact/quick release. He isn’t afforded many of those clean pockets, but he still manages to consistently produce explosive plays with his arm and legs. He’s dynamic in his movement when faced with unblocked defenders. He can avoid/escape with ease, and he picks up some monster gains (SEE: 25-yard touchdown run versus Clemson).

He has plenty of arm strength to drive the ball down the field and he does a nice job of making the easy throws look easy underneath. I was impressed with his accuracy at all three levels. He’s an outstanding open-field runner. He can make defenders miss in space, run away from them or break tackles.

Where he needs to improve: Sellers needs to work on moving more quickly through his progressions. He flashes the ability to get to his third option, but there are too many times where he gets stuck on his first read. When the first option doesn’t materialize, he often will turn to his legs to make things happen. I believe he will improve in this department as he piles up more game reps. There are also a few examples in the games I studied where he sinks at the top of his drop, which can impact his ball placement. He needs to narrow his base a little bit. Fortunately, that is an easy fix.

Biggest takeaway: I was blown away by Sellers’ lower-body strength to shrug off defensive linemen inside the pocket. He has some incredible escapes because of his quickness, but it was his ability to pull through tackles or absorb contact and deliver the ball that stood out the most during my study. There are some similarities to a young Ben Roethlisberger in that regard. His lower-body power/strength also shows up when he gets into the open field. Second- and third-level defenders really struggle to get him on the ground.

This type of speed/power combination is usually reserved for athlete-only quarterbacks. That’s what makes Sellers so special. He can operate as a traditional pocket passer and unleash those physical tools when needed. I’ve seen some people compare him to Anthony Richardson, but I don’t see it that way. He’s far more advanced in his footwork and feel as a pocket passer.

He reminds me of: As I mentioned earlier, there are some elements to his game that remind me of Big Ben and I see a little bit of Josh Allen, as well. However, the closest comparison I came away with is Daunte Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Minnesota Vikings during his 11 NFL seasons. Before he suffered injuries at the pro level, Culpepper was an outstanding athlete with the frame/build of an outside linebacker. He could function in the pure dropback game, but if pressured, he could buy time or take off and generate explosive plays. There wasn’t any panic in his game and he was very difficult to get on the ground. Sellers still has some development ahead of him, but it’s easy to see why NFL evaluators are already buzzing about his potential at the next level.

Numbers to know: Sellers led all FBS quarterbacks in missed tackles forced (33) and yards after contact (359) from Week 9 on last season, per PFF. Eighteen of those missed tackles forced came in South Carolina’s win over Clemson, a single-game record for a QB in the PFF College era (since 2014).