The Loyalty Trio: Why Sellers, Harbor and Stewart Give South Carolina One of College Football’s Most Talented Cores
South Carolina has one of the most exciting cores in college football, and it starts with a decision that could have gone very differently. Getting all three of quarterback LaNorris Sellers, wide receiver Nyck Harbor and EDGE rusher Dylan Stewart to stay loyal and return to South Carolina was described as huge for the Gamecocks — and the numbers behind each of them explain exactly why.
A trio built for the 2027 NFL Draft
The framing around this group isn’t just about this season — it’s about where each player is projected to go next. Expect to hear the talented trio’s names called early in the 2027 NFL Draft, a projection that speaks to just how much draft-caliber talent South Carolina managed to keep on campus for one more year rather than losing early to the professional ranks. In an era where college programs regularly lose top talent to early declarations, retaining three potential early-round picks simultaneously is a genuine competitive advantage.
LaNorris Sellers: the engine of the offense
Sellers anchors the group after three seasons that have produced 6,073 total yards and 46 total touchdowns. That kind of dual-threat production — spanning both passing and rushing touchdowns across his career — reflects exactly the versatile quarterback profile that makes an offense difficult to defend, and it explains why he remains South Carolina’s most important returning piece heading into the season.
Dylan Stewart: a disruptive force off the edge
Stewart’s numbers stand out even more given the shorter sample. In just two seasons, he’s accumulated 56 tackles, 11 sacks, 6 forced fumbles and 3 pass deflections. The forced fumble total in particular is a meaningful indicator — defenders who consistently strip the ball aren’t just getting to the quarterback, they’re generating the kind of game-changing turnovers that swing outcomes. Eleven sacks across two seasons also places Stewart firmly in the conversation as one of the SEC’s more disruptive edge rushers, and it’s easy to see why his continued development is central to South Carolina’s defensive identity.
Nyck Harbor: a three-year focal point in the passing game
Harbor rounds out the trio with 68 receptions for 1,189 yards and 10 touchdowns across three seasons. A touchdown rate that high relative to his catch total suggests he’s not just a volume target — he’s a legitimate scoring threat whenever he’s in the red zone or gets behind a defense, which pairs naturally with Sellers’ ability to extend plays and find receivers down the field.
Why keeping this group together matters
Individually, each of these numbers is impressive. Collectively, they represent something rarer: a genuine core of returning, proven, NFL-caliber talent across three different phases of the game — quarterback, receiver and edge defense — all electing to run it back together for another season in Columbia. For a program looking to bounce back from a difficult previous year, having Sellers distributing the ball, Harbor threatening defenses down the field, and Stewart pressuring opposing quarterbacks gives South Carolina a foundation most programs would envy heading into a new season.
