ESPN’s Latest QB Rankings Place Sellers, Reynolds Near the Bottom / sportsearchers.com

ESPN analyst Bill Connelly released his second quarterback rankings of the season for all 68 Power 4 quarterbacks, and both South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and Clemson’s Tait Reynolds landed in the bottom half of the list.

Where Sellers and Reynolds Rank

Sellers checked in at No. 49, a significant drop from his No. 25 preseason ranking, while Reynolds, who won Clemson’s starting job midseason, sits even lower at No. 66. For context, Miami’s Darian Mensah tops the list at No. 1 after being ranked just No. 11 in the spring, and the rankings feature four SEC quarterbacks in the top 10, including two South Carolina has already faced this season — Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor (No. 5) and Alabama’s Keelon Russell (No. 7) — alongside Ole Miss’s Trinidad Chambliss (No. 4) and Georgia’s Gunner Stockton (No. 8).

Sellers’ Struggles by the Numbers

Sellers currently holds a QBR of 59.1, reflecting a season that started promisingly but has faded. On the year, he’s thrown for 833 yards and rushed for 272 with 7 total touchdowns, but his last two games have been rough. Connelly didn’t hold back in his assessment: “This was supposed to be South Carolina’s redemption year, and Sellers started out promisingly, taking what he was given and keeping the sack totals low. But in losses to Mississippi State and Alabama, he threw three interceptions, took four sacks and averaged just 6.2 yards per dropback. He might as well go back to hunting big plays, damn the consequences, because this approach has little upside.”

Beamer Stays Noncommittal on QB Competition

Asked directly whether backup Cutter Woods was getting increased first-team practice reps — a potential signal of a larger role against Kentucky — Beamer declined to give a direct answer, instead emphasizing an ongoing culture of competition across the roster: “Every position is accountable. Every week in practice there is competition that’s ongoing at our place, no matter the position.”

Reynolds’ Unusual Path to the Starting Job

Clemson’s Reynolds, a true freshman, took over for Christopher Vizzina after an injury during the Georgia Southern game and has since started the past two games, wins over North Carolina and California. Notably, he became the earliest-starting freshman quarterback at Clemson in 51 years. His numbers reflect the growing pains expected of a true freshman: a QBR of 29.8, along with 523 passing yards and 135 rushing yards with one touchdown.

Connelly credited Reynolds for a gutsy performance against North Carolina while flagging real concerns ahead of tougher matchups: “Reynolds led a late rally against North Carolina that, for all we know, saved the Dabo Swinney era. He also improved late in the game against Cal. But the freshman is averaging just 9.9 yards per completion and 5.3 yards per dropback with loads of sacks, and he has to face Miami’s and Virginia Tech’s top-30 defenses in October.” Clemson hosts No. 4 Miami this week, a significant early test for its young starter.

The Bigger Picture

Both South Carolina and Clemson enter pivotal stretches of their seasons with uncertainty at the quarterback position — Sellers trying to recapture the form that made him a preseason standout, and Reynolds simply trying to gain experience fast enough to compete against increasingly difficult SEC and ACC competition.