The South Carolina Gamecocks are heading into a massive Week 3 college football game for their program. They’re 2-1 but coming off a tough 31-7 loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores.
In that game, star quarterback LaNorris Sellers suffered a concussion, and as of earlier this week, it seemed unlikely that he was going to play. On Thursday, On3’s Pete Nakos released a promising update.
These are all signs that point to Sellers being able to go on Saturday afternoon from No. 23 Missouri’s Memorial Stadium.
Shane Beamer provides positive update on QB LaNorris Sellers
As if that wasn’t enough, head coach Shane Beamer also sounded extremely optimistic about his star quarterback when discussing injuries with the media on Thursday.
“Oh, he’s great,” Beamer said, according to Wes Mitchell of Gamecock Central. “He wanted to play last Saturday night. He was right back out on the field and active and involved — he didn’t practice necessarily on Sunday — but he was back out there with the team and hurt. He’s in great spirits. Again, he’s a competitor and that’s what I told him all week, at the end of the day, any of our players’ health is the most important thing, short-term and long-term. LaNorris has been adamant since Saturday night when he wanted to play that he was playing this weekend, and hopefully that’s the way it will turn out here in the next couple of days.”
Frankly, the Gamecocks will need Sellers to play if they have any hope of winning this big-time road contest against the Tigers.
South Carolina needs Sellers to beat Missouri
Mizzou is 3-0 and has looked rather impressive, especially in a 42-31 win over a renewed rival, Kansas, in Week 2. Dating back to last season, the Tigers have won seven of their last eight games. The Tigers have also won five consecutive against the Gamecocks.
Sixth-year senior quarterback Luke Doty replaced Sellers in the loss against Vanderbilt. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 148 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. The Gamecocks didn’t score in the second half of that contest.
To be fair, it’s not like Sellers did much in that one. He went 6-of-7 passes for 94 yards, but he didn’t throw a touchdown and he did toss one pick. Still, Sellers gives the Gamecocks the best chance of beating Mizzou, so it’s vital for them that he plays.