Kendal Briles isn’t wasting time looking backward with LaNorris Sellers. The new South Carolina offensive coordinator said Thursday at the annual Birdies with Beamer media golf outing that he hasn’t studied Sellers’ film from last season, and he doesn’t see much value in dwelling on it anyway.
“To be completely candid with you,” Briles said Thursday at the annual Birdies with Beamer media golf outing, “I have not looked at any film from last year.”
That’s not because Sellers’ 2025 season is unimportant. It’s the opposite. Briles knows South Carolina’s future leans heavily on quarterback play, and he’s focused on getting Sellers back to the version of himself that flashed in 2024.
Last season, in an offense led by former OC Mike Shula, Sellers took a clear step back from that standard. Briles doesn’t need a film session to understand that. What matters now is what comes next for a quarterback who, in 2024, completed nearly two-thirds of his passes for over 2,500 yards while rushing for almost 700 yards.
For the second straight year, South Carolina enters camp without a quarterback battle at the top. Sellers remains the starter, and the challenge is getting him back to the level he showed in wins over Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson, when he looked like the kind of player who could take over a game on his own.
Briles’ early message seems built around confidence and freedom. He wants Sellers playing loose, trusting his instincts and using the full range of what makes him dangerous.
“He’s got the X factor,” Briles said. “I can call something that doesn’t necessarily line up good against a defense and what they’re playing, and he can go make it work.
“He’s got those traits and that ability to be able to use his feet and his legs and his mind to be able to make plays work,” Briles continued. “And I’m really excited about the confidence he has right now.”
Behind Sellers, South Carolina’s most intriguing addition is Landon Duckworth. The Gamecocks signed only one quarterback in their 2026 recruiting class, and he arrived with serious credentials: Duckworth is the highest-ranked quarterback Shane Beamer has signed at USC.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Alabama native enrolled in January, and Briles described him as a quarterback with plenty of upside and room to grow.
“He’s a raw talent,” Briles said of Duckworth. “Where he played in Alabama, he wasn’t asked to do a whole lot and was able to just rely on his ability to just go win.
That’s good, because you have a guy who doesn’t have a lot of bad habits. We’re gonna be able to mold him. ...
I’m excited about his trajectory.”
The only real depth-chart question left in the room is who ends up at No. 3.
Redshirt freshman Cutter Woods, an Anderson native, was clearly established as the backup coming out of spring, and that doesn’t appear likely to change. That leaves Duckworth and Lucian Anderson III, who transferred in this offseason, to sort out the third-string spot.
Anderson, a 6-3, 216-pound quarterback, started two games at Bowling Green last season. He completed 26 of 41 passes for 245 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
South Carolina doesn’t necessarily need to name a third-string quarterback, so the answer may stay hidden unless the Gamecocks are in a blowout and turn to a third passer. For now, the room is set at the top, with Sellers carrying the biggest expectations and Briles betting that his best football is still ahead.
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LaNorris Sellers Isnt South Carolinas Only New Voice This Season
LaNorris Sellers is back as South Carolinas lone returning captain, and the quarterback is naturally expected to be the face of the program again as the Gamecocks move deeper into the season. But the leadership picture around him looks different this fall, with the coaching staff pointing to a growing group of players who are beginning to speak up and set the tone on both sides of the ball.
On defense, Gabe Brownlow-Dindy, Gerald Kilgore, Shawn Murphy and Peyton Williams have drawn notice as emerging voices, while Brady Hunt and Maurice Brown have stood out on offense. The staff believes more leaders will surface as the season goes on, which matters for a team trying to build more than just one clear centerpiece in the locker room. [Read more 🡒]
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August 7 brings the start of camp, and the early practices will give a first look at how firm that pecking order really is. With the top of the room already in place, the fourth linebacker job feels like one of those roles that can shape special teams, rotations and, eventually, snaps that matter when the season starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]