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New South Carolina OC Mike Shula clarifies how much he wants LaNorris Sellers to run the ball
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- New South Carolina OC Mike Shula clarifies how much he wants LaNorris Sellers to run the ball
COLUMBIA — South Carolina football had a lot of success in 2024 because of LaNorris Sellers ' elusiveness when pressured and his running ability.
He returns as starting quarterback in 2025 but now has Mike Shula as his play caller.
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Shula was promoted from an analyst to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the end of last year. He is a former Alabama coach who spent 17 years as an NFL assistant before joining coach Shane Beamer's staff before the 2024 season.
As preseason practice wraps and the season opener on Aug 31 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) against Virginia Tech nears, he was asked about the perception that he is trying to "reel in Sellers" from running as much.
"I wouldn't use the words 'reel him in.' That part is a little bit inaccurate," Shula said Aug. 20. "I would say, 'Hey we want you to run it but when you're back there throwing it and it's a designed pass and there's guys open, see it, anticipate it, trust it and throw it. If it's not, then you go run.'"
Sellers finished with 674 rushing yards on 166 caries and scored seven rushing touchdowns in 2024.
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"Maybe last year at times, and he was really good last year don't get me wrong, maybe there's a couple guys that he could have thrown to and he just took off," Shula said. "He's going to play fast, we're going to do a lot of things with him and hopefully because of that he's going to be really hard to defend if he's making good decisions. It's all about making good decisions, decisions that keep him and our offense on the field. All that and his athletic ability whether it's running it or throwing it will hopefully get the ball in the end zone."
Shula was introduced as offensive coordinator Dec. 18. He said then some of the times when Sellers "was just terrific running it he probably coulda got the ball out on time where he didn't have to run it."
The 21-17 Citrus Bowl loss was the first time Shula called the offense for South Carolina , and Sellers had 11 carries for 19 yards, which was his third-fewest rushing attempts all season.
While Sellers is a strong runner, other factors played into him being the Gamecocks ' second-leading rusher. For running backs, he mainly had one option in Rocket Sanders.
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Sellers was sacked 25 times through the first six games before his offensive line had better protection and allowed only eight across the final six games. Some of the crazy, flashy runs he had were because he couldn't sit in the pocket and wait for the receiver.
Knowing that defenders will scout and prepare for him to scramble or run the ball himself, Sellers wants a more solid passing game and has the wide receiver depth to do so this season.
He didn't start fully connecting with his receivers until the loss against Alabama in Week 5, but he ultimately finished with 2,534 passing yards (196-for-299) and threw 18 touchdowns.
TIGHT END: Where South Carolina football stands at tight end in 2025, including 'Mr. Lunchbox'
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Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com . Follow her on X @Lulukesin and Bluesky @bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina OC Mike Shula on how much LaNorris Sellers will run
