Kendal Briles Has One Big Belief About LaNorris Sellers vs. Alabama / sportsearchers.com

South Carolina’s season is currently hanging on a key question: was LaNorris Sellers’ rough performance against Mississippi State a temporary setback or a sign of things to come? In USC’s 41-34 loss to the Bulldogs, Sellers had arguably his worst game as a Gamecock, with Pro Football Focus grading his outing as containing five “turnover-worthy plays” — the most of his career — despite only two actual interceptions (a third would-be pick on fourth-and-goal was negated by a defensive penalty).

Briles Believes the Issue Is Fixable

Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles expressed confidence that Sellers’ decision-making problems can be addressed quickly: “That’s why these guys go and practice each and every day. I mean, they’re human and they played against a defense that was really good… So (we’re) just continuing to work and get better and allow him to have a ton of confidence in the scheme and the players.”

Breaking Down the First Interception

The first interception came in the third quarter with South Carolina trailing by five. Sellers’ pass to Mazeo Bennett was tipped at the line and intercepted — but the bigger concern was that Sellers bypassed his first read, an “open” Nyck Harbor behind the defense. Briles noted this isn’t a typical tendency for Sellers in practice, calling it a costly rarity: “(You’d like for LaNorris) to just let the ball go and let it rip. I mean, he obviously had (Mazeo open on) the over route and the guy made a good play and got underneath it.” SEC Network analyst Aaron Murray had suggested Sellers “just aims it instead of throws it,” but both Briles and head coach Shane Beamer rejected that characterization when asked directly this week.

A Harder-to-Defend Second Pick

The second interception proved more difficult to explain away. On the following drive, now trailing by eight, Sellers threw an out route to Donovan Murph on third-and-10 without seeing a Mississippi State defender closing in. Briles was direct about the mechanical issue: “He needs to let it go the first time he sees it. He double-clutched it and it got there late.”

Context: A Team-Wide Third-Quarter Collapse

While Sellers’ mistakes drew the most attention, the entire South Carolina team struggled badly during the third quarter against Mississippi State — his errors simply stood out most given his position and profile as a third-year starter.

Looking Ahead to Alabama

As South Carolina (2-1, 0-1 SEC) prepares to face Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC) this Saturday, Briles remained firmly behind his quarterback, pointing to Sellers’ experience as a genuine asset: “We feel very confident in our quarterback. LaNorris has played a lot of snaps and one thing you can’t buy is experience. I can’t wait to go see him play this week and play his butt off.” Whether that confidence translates into a cleaner performance against a tough Alabama defense will go a long way toward determining whether last week’s struggles were an outlier or a deeper concern heading into the heart of SEC play.