Syracuse, N.Y. -- Former Syracuse quarterback commit LaNorris Sellers is currently being projected as a top-five NFL Draft pick in multiple reputable mock drafts.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso currently project Sellers to be selected No. 2 overall next year behind only Texas quarterback Arch Manning. ESPN’s Jordan Reid currently projects Sellers going at pick No. 4, with Clemson’s Cade Klubnik the only quarterback ahead of him.
Sellers’ rise to a potential national star earned him a profile by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, published on Monday, which focuses primarily on his time at South Carolina.
Sellers threw for 2,534 yards last season with the Gamecocks, completing 65.6 percent of his passes, including better than 60 percent in the final five games of the year. A dual-threat at quarterback, he also rushed for 674 yards.
Feldman’s story touched on Sellers’ decommitment from Syracuse, detailing how difficult it was to flip his commitment to his home state school and away from coaches Robert Anae and Jason Beck, who he’d previously committed to play for when the pair was coaching at Virginia.
Sellers told Feldman that both geography and the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Syracuse coaching staff contributed to his decision.
“My mom said, ‘What happens if you go up there and that same coaching staff isn’t there when you’re there? I don’t want you to go up there and get stuck so far away when you can stay home and play in the best conference,’” Sellers said. “And, they (Beck and Anae) were there for (only) six months after.”
Two weeks before Sellers flipped his verbal commitment, Anae took a job with North Carolina State. Beck took over for Anae offensive coordinator the following year but was not retained after Dino Babers was fired.
Even after flipping his commitment, Sellers said he didn’t sign on National Signing Day because he was so conflicted.
“I was supposed to sign that Wednesday, but I felt so bad that I ended up pushing my signing back until late Friday,” Sellers said. “I second-guessed myself a bunch in those three days.”
Fran Brown won 10 games last season in his first year leading the SU program. Jeff Nixon and Kyle McCord turned Syracuse into the country’s most productive passing offense.
While there probably wasn’t much that Syracuse could have done to keep Sellers in the fold, his dramatic improvement could still make him one of the biggest near-misses in program history.