COLUMBIA — Some of it was necessity. South Carolina has a very small running back room at present, just two healthy scholarship players. The top back, Mario Anderson, is “beaten up,” to use coach Shane Beamer’s words.
Some of it was luxury. The kid had only played in two games, so playing against Kentucky and Clemson to end the regular season wouldn’t burn his redshirt.
Still more of it was curiosity. It’s far too early to begin talking in earnest about the Gamecocks’ quarterback situation next season, but with Spencer Rattler almost certainly leaving for the NFL, senior Luke Doty will deserve a look. But the freshman will give the coaches something to ponder this spring and offseason.
All of that resulted in playing LaNorris Sellers the last two weeks. And as he did in his previous game against Furman, he impressed.
Just trying to run out the clock and not put anything they’ve been working on on film for opponents to research, Sellers was supposed to give the ball to a running back or look for a receiver against Vanderbilt. Instead, he saw the hole, ran between two defenders and took off for the end zone, shredding his knee brace on the way.
“I knew going into the Vanderbilt game that we were probably going to need that LaNorris package down the stretch after Juju (McDowell) got hurt,” Beamer said. “And we put LaNorris in the game at the end of the game last week and that frickin’ touchdown … he was supposed to hand it off.”
Against Kentucky last week, with Anderson bruised and DJay Braswell a true freshman who simply hasn’t played that much, the Gamecocks turned to Sellers early. Helming the “Wildcat” quarterback role, Sellers carried twice for 9 yards.
Nothing to shout about, but it helped out a spot in need.
“These guys get to play four games and it’s important for our quarterbacks to have some experience. We wanted to make sure he’s gaining experience in a role that he can help us,” offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said. “He’s a good runner and we were banged up at running back last week.”
South Carolina
With Clemson coming to town this week and the redshirt intact — and frankly, the Gamecocks’ running game still in the starting blocks despite playing 11 games — it’s a good bet that Sellers will play this week in some fashion.
Loggains was grasping every straw he could find last week, also asking Xavier Legette to take some end-around runs (he carried four times for minus-11 yards, but that was excused as he caught the Gamecocks’ only two touchdowns in a win over Kentucky).
Loggains knows what he has and now has been the time to experiment. Sellers has been an interesting project since he enrolled.
Over the summer, Loggains cracked that Sellers was getting so much preseason publicity after one of the greatest single-season prep performances in school history that he had to tell him every other day that he, um, wasn’t that good. In much more impolite terms.
“I saw his grandma after the (Vanderbilt) game, I was walking out. And she said, ‘Coach, you still think he sucks?’” Loggains recalled. “And I said, ‘Yes, ma’am.’ She says, ‘Good. Keep telling him that.’
“When he gets out there, good things happen.”
Sellers’ ability to extend a play with his legs and really hurt the opponent with the same has been the drawing card thus far, but the touchdown he threw against Furman even had Rattler oohing. “That was a dime,” Rattler said.
The Gamecocks are expected to again have to rely on Rattler’s arm again to beat Clemson, but also know that as it’s been all season, they can’t just line up and throw every time. They have to try something different.
Sellers can be different.
COLUMBIA — She lifted the University of South Carolina women’s basketball program to incredible heights and is elevating her profile in the WNBA.
The city where she spent four years is hoping for more.
Experience Columbia SC announced on Sunday that star Gamecock alum Aliyah Boston, the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year and the most decorated athlete in USC history, has signed a one-year deal to promote and inspire travel to the Midlands.
Speaking at Colonial Life Arena, where she won a national championship among other baubles during her distinguished career, Boston spoke before adjourning to the floor to watch the current Gamecocks take on Vanderbilt.
“Columbia will always hold a special part in my heart because this is where I grew up. This is where I found my voice,” Boston said. “To be able to give back in this way, I am just super-excited.”
Boston will be the focus of a media campaign, on her and the city’s social channels, where she’ll explore Columbia and promote its many offerings. The group was already out on Sunday morning filming a few snippets, which will be released in the near future.
“She’ll be talking about places that she knows, exploring some places that she might not have had a chance to go to,” said Charlene Slaughter, ECSC’s Director of Communications. “Seeing people’s reactions to her and her being out there, we can’t wait to hear those messages go out.”
The process of getting her to sign on came together quickly. Boston had the time and energy to do it, and her agents reached out to ECSC.
“My love for Columbia and the way I want to give back, to draw back to where I had such a great time in college, we said, ‘Know what, why don’t we reach out?’” Boston said.
The WNBA season is strictly during the summer months and while Boston could play overseas ball, she elected to stay home this year. She was immediately approached to do color TV analysis for Big Ten Conference games and has already drawn raves for her performance there.
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