Why LaNorris Sellers Should Win Mr. Football 2022
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When you look at LaNorris Sellers LaNorris Sellers 6'3" | 215 lbs | QB South Florence | 2023 State SC ‘ stats from his senior season, they jump off the page. During the regular season, he threw for 1,999 yards…
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Continue ReadingWhen you look at LaNorris Sellers LaNorris Sellers 6'3" | 215 lbs | QB South Florence | 2023 State SC ‘ stats from his senior season, they jump off the page.
During the regular season, he threw for 1,999 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also rushed for 841 yards and 13 more scores. That’s 2,840 yards of offense and 40 touchdowns in 10 games.
But as coach Drew Marlowe points out, Sellers’ numbers don’t tell the whole story on their own.
Sellers hasn’t played beyond halftime of three games this year. He also didn’t play in the fourth quarter four additional times. That’s 10 quarters of football – the equivalent of two-and-a-half games – where he wasn’t in there padding his numbers.
“LaNorris is without question the best high school football player that I have ever seen,” South Florence coach Drew Marlowe said. “His ability to extend and create big-time plays at critical moments makes him all the more special.”
While all of the candidates for South Carolina’s Mr. Football 2022 award are special athletes, there is no question that South Florence is getting the most bang for his buck with its star quarterback. Consider this: While he has been considered a front-runner for the award since about three or four weeks into the season, he played less than half of his junior season before suffering a year-ending Sternoclavicular (SC) joint dislocation that required surgery and put him in a sling.
By mid-spring, videos started circulating of him doing squats of around 500 pounds. By early summer, he was spinning it like never before during 7-on-7s. Then, the chatter that started when he initially committed to Virginia (and then switched to Syracuse due to staff changes) fired up like never before once the season began.
He threw for 200 yards and had five total touchdowns in the season opener against Goose Creek. The next week, he passed and rushed for 100 each and added four more touchdowns against Oceanside.
He let the world know he really meant business, though, against Wilson on October 7.
In two quarters of football, he completed 15-of-19 passes for 426 yards and eight touchdowns and ran for another score.
The state took notice. And those in the know grew exponentially.
Sellers has picked up other high-profile offers since this season started. South Carolina joined the fray. As did Coastal Carolina. Surely, the next month or so is going to be heated as others try to wedge themselves into Sellers’ purview.
The South Florence quarterback is focused on something else, though. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Marlowe told us that Sellers’ best quality is that he wants to win more than he wants to look good.
South Florence and its senior quarterback will probably do a little more of both before this season is done.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a seven-part series breaking down the finalists for South Carolina’s Mr. Football award for this fall. Our scouts have seen these players this season and have in some cases tracked them from prior to their varsity playing days. The 2022 Mr. Football Award will be announced and presented at halftime of the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl on December 10.
2022 Mr. Football Finalists
Jarvis Green Jarvis Green 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB Dutch Fork | 2023 State SC RB, Dutch Fork
Bryson James RB, Clinton
Raheim Jeter Raheim Jeter 6'3" | 220 lbs | QB Spartanburg | 2023 State SC QB, Spartanburg
Xzavier McLeod Xzavier McLeod 6'5" | 320 lbs | DL Camden | 2023 State SC DL, Camden
Jonah Norris Jonah Norris 5'11" | 200 lbs | RB Lexington | 2023 State SC RB, Lexington
LaNorris Sellers LaNorris Sellers 6'3" | 215 lbs | QB South Florence | 2023 State SC QB, South Florence
Tyler J Smith Tyler J Smith 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Barnwell | 2023 State SC RB, Barnwell