South Carolina fans and analysts have been buzzing on social media, questioning why quarterback LaNorris Sellers hasn’t been used as much in the run game this season.
Head coach Shane Beamer addressed that criticism on Tuesday, brushing aside what he called a “conspiracy” that Sellers has been instructed to run the ball less.
“I don’t know what conspiracy theories are out there, but I’ve never said, and no one in this building has ever said, ‘We need to run the quarterback less,’” Beamer said. “I hear all this crap about they’re not running the quarterback enough or something. We’re calling the same god-dang plays we called last year, guys.”
Through three games in 2025 (though Sellers left the Vanderbilt matchup early), the sophomore has 24 carries. By comparison, he had 40 rushing attempts in the first three contests of 2024, with more than half of those coming in the season opener against Old Dominion. Since becoming South Carolina’s starter, Sellers has logged double-digit carries in nearly every game, with only three exceptions: Kentucky in 2024 (eight), South Carolina State this year (eight), and Vanderbilt last weekend (three).
Beamer insisted the staff’s approach is simply about tailoring the game plan to each opponent.
“I would say every week we want to do what we need to do to win the football game,” Beamer explained. “We ran him the other night. We ran him against Virginia Tech. We ran him against South Carolina State. Teams aren’t dumb, either. … A lot of them are going to say, ‘Don’t let 16 carry the ball’ because we’ve seen what happens when he carries the ball.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Shula has also faced repeated questions about Sellers’ rushing workload. In both the preseason and after the Virginia Tech game, Shula clarified the goal was not to limit Sellers but to improve his decision-making.
“I kind of said all along that he’s a talented runner,” Shula said on Sept. 3. “… But as far as him running the football on his own, we kind of want him running it because he wants to as opposed to, I didn’t quite see the read correctly, so I just took off and ran. That’s our goal of him getting better.”
Beamer suggested those comments may have been misinterpreted, but he stood firm that nothing has changed with the play-calling.
“We’re not saying we need to run LaNorris less,” Beamer said. “I know there’s like this conspiracy theory going back to the bowl game that we … don’t run LaNorris as much. We’re running LaNorris plenty. Some of those are reads where LaNorris can hand it or pull it and keep it. Some of those are RPOs, where he can run it or throw it. And there’s some of those called, designed runs that he runs.”
Sellers’ availability for Saturday’s SEC showdown at Missouri remains uncertain. On3 reported he is being monitored for a concussion. While Beamer has said he is “optimistic” about Sellers’ chances of playing, he has directed reporters to wait for the official SEC availability report, which comes out Wednesday evening.
Regardless of who lines up under center, Beamer said the Gamecocks won’t hesitate to lean on the quarterback run game.
“So we’re doing what we got to do to win football games each week, and if that means running LaNorris then we’re going to run LaNorris — or Luke, or Air, or Cutter, or Jimmy Francis, or Brandon Cunningham, or whoever we’ve got in there playing quarterback,” Beamer said.
