Everything LaNorris Sellers said meeting with local media at SEC Media Days

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers spoke with local media at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday afternoon to discuss offseason training and preparation for the 2026 season. Here’s everything he had to say. LaNorris, what’s been your main focus this off-season? Was there one goal, you said,’I got to do better at it?’ ”It was just a whole bunch of things. Just being more consistent. I think I told you this before, my footwork, anticipation, building those relationships with the guys, the new guys and new coaches, all that. Just mastering the system for them.” How did that tie in with learning (Kendal Briles’) new system, and fine tuning it? ”Yeah, we all learned it together. So it’s like, we all mess up, everybody going to mess up, but as long as we got each other’s backs, that’s pretty much all that matters.” Nyck (Harbor) mentioned this has probably been the hardest off-season from a training standpoint, do you kind of feel that same way? ”Yeah, definitely. I’ll say it’s the first one, I told him this like last week, it’s the only off-season I’ve had that’s gotten harder as the weeks have gone on. Usually, you get accustomed to them and all that, this is the only one that’s gotten harder as we’ve gone on.” LaNorris, why should Gamecock fans have faith in this team next year? ”Just because we’re attacking every day, we’re still working. We’re still confident in ourselves so there’s some confidence in us as well.” When do you feel the most pressure? When expectations are fine, or maybe when you go in as an underdog? ”The most pressure? I think going in as an underdog, there’s no pressure because it’s like, you’re the underdog, you don’t have nothing to lose, might as well just go out there and do what you do. But, I would say the mental expectations, but it’s not really something I’m focused on.” The GamecockCentral staff and subscribers are discussing this now on The Insiders Forum. Last year, was it tough for you at all to go into the season with so much pressure and outside noise? “I would say nah. Because like I said, I don’t really worry about like media, like outside talk at all; that’s all about what’s in the building.” LaNorris, what’s the most exciting part about Coach Briles’ offense because Nyck was saying how it’s fun, which sometimes isn’t something you hear when the off-season training is so difficult. What’s the most fun or most exciting about the offense? “Just all the new stuff that we’re bringing in that we’re doing. Just like I said, it’s fun, new system, new coaches with a lot of excitement.” LaNorris, how have you seen Nyck develop over this off-season? ”He’s just attacking every day. It’s just, it’s crazy. It’s great to see that you can always do more, and he finds the more to do. That’s big on him.” From the combination of the offensive line and the running backs, do you feel like they’re going to take some of the pressure off of you with a better running game this year? “Yeah, just a lot of communication between those two, or whoever’s in the five that’s in and running back. Just seeing what they see, like, ‘Hey, I’m going here, just run off my butt or something,’ or ‘I’m gonna pin them inside, you can go outside,’ just a lot more communication.” Can you explain what the collaboration looks like between you and Coach Briles putting together a playbook? “It’s pretty much his playbook, and he’s just coaching me on, like, teaching me what to do, where to look, stuff like that.” LaNorris, in an especially hard off-season, are there any guys on the offense that stood out as extra hard workers this year? ”Shoot, I’ll say everybody. Everybody’s attacking and you’re not going to be able to finish the workouts without working hard. So for everybody to finish pretty much on a consistent basis every day, I mean that’s saying something.” Do you feel like everyone was equally motivated or did anyone have to step up to kind of lead the group? ”Yeah, definitely. I think you always have those younger guys who are not used to all that, but if they see the older guys, like our best players working hard, and they want to be those players one day, and then they go work hard as well, too. So they had to step up in order to be like a part of the team pretty much.” How much better has your brother gotten this off-season? “A lot better. He’s putting in work, the extra work. Anytime I’m with Nyck or those guys throwing extra, watching film extra, he’s always there. No complaints; it’s hot outside, he’s out there, raining, anything like that. He’s asking me questions, showing up at my door, like, ‘Hey, like, why didn’t you throw him the ball here? What he looking at? Was it late?’ stuff like that too.” How often does he ask you that? ”Anytime he feels like he’s open.” You came to South Carolina as a kid, now you’re an adult, and you’ve been in the spotlight the whole time, but how are you different now than when you first walked on campus? ”Yeah, I’ve been through it all. Just adversity, expectations and stuff like that. Then with fans, we’ve had the ups and downs, like I said, having to learn new systems pretty much every year. Like, you got to grow up pretty fast and then painlessly, you got to grow up pretty fast. Playing guys we won’t play on Sundays. So it’s an adjustment for sure, but I think I’ve attacked it well.” Visit our exclusive Gamecocks-only, no-trolls message board! LaNorris, what fuels you as a competitor? Are you someone who is motivated by disappointment from a year ago? Do you wipe the slate clean and just look forward? What motivates you as a competitor? “I mean, I don’t want to feel what we felt last year, but also, like, I don’t like to lose either. So I’m just doing whatever it takes to win those games. Just doing more, just finding more to do.” I went back and watched the film from last year. How did you evaluate how you handle pressure and does this offense maybe give you some capabilities to handle pressure in a different way? “Yeah, definitely. Just getting my eyes on the right spot, and not second-guessing, like, you get out there, you’re seeing guys creep up, you know, like, see he’s coming, you don’t need to worry about that. Like, trust your protection, you know where it’s going. You know where you’re going to be hot at, and you got to put the ball there.” Was there any process, like did you at all have to build up your confidence this offseason after a tough 2025? “I mean, it definitely took a little hit on my confidence, but it’s like, if you lose a bunch of games, that’s what happens to everybody. So it’s just about attacking every day. But if you prepare, that will help the confidence.” How do you build it back up? “You just play football. Like, it’s a game I’ve played since I’m young. I love it; you lose a game, you get better from it. That’s all you pretty much can do.” LaNorris, it’s the 10-year anniversary of the SEC slogan, “It Just Means More.” And I know you have buddies in other leagues, other conferences. In what ways do you feel it just means more in the conference? “It’s just that more important to us, I guess. I mean, they might take that the wrong way, I’m sorry. But it’s just super competitive. Like, we got the new schedule of SEC games, like, we’re playing each other. So you know what I’m saying, it’s not going to be any easier. So, just going to be a hard conference, fun to play.” Your rushing stats were really good in ’24 with Rocket Sanders in the backfield. How much does a great running back in the backfield help you run the ball? And what looks do defenses give differently? “I guess it just depends on the way, depends on the scheme, depends on the defense, what they like to run, what they do frequently, they like to take away. But I think anything in general that can help your run game or help the pass game is what’s going to help everybody’s stats improve, if that makes sense. So it’s not just that a good running game would help my run game. It’s like a good pass game, if we all play on the same pace, then you’ll be alright.” What do you think? Join the discussion on The Insiders Forum.