Shane Beamer makes feelings known on LaNorris Sellers delivering SEC championship to South Carolina in 2025

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer expressed confidence in his team’s ability and resources to challenge for a championship this season. Answering questions at the ongoing SEC Media Days, Beamer maintained that the Gamecocks are well-equipped.

This claim is hardly dismissible, considering the team has one of the best returning quarterbacks in the SEC in LaNorris Sellers. Beamer said:

“We have everything that we need in Columbia to compete for championships on and off the field. I don’t see resources that are lacking at South Carolina. It’s exciting for me as a coach to (try) and do something that’s never been done before. We want nothing more to bring a championship to Columbia.”

Beamer’s response was prompted by a question from SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum on whether he thinks winning the SEC championship is doable. It is a question many would want an answer to, considering that the Gamecocks have not won a conference title in more than 65 years.

This is besides the point, though, as Beamer indicated in his response. He said:

“(It’s) very doable, very doable … I mean, we were two points away last season from being in the College Football Playoff and having a chance to compete for a national championship.”

The Gamecocks were 5-3 in the SEC last season, ending the season with a 9-4 overall record.

LaNorris Sellers’ impact on Shane Beamer’s 2024 campaign

One of the brightest spots in South Carolina’s 2024 season was the breakout of quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

Sellers, who redshirted his freshman season, made just three appearances in 2023. However, he started every game for the team in 2024, passing for 2,520 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Sellers also had 674 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 166 carries.

Returning with a season’s worth of experience under his belt, the quarterback is expected to be even more crucial for Shane Beamer’s team this season.

This is probably a factor fueling Beamer’s confidence in his team’s potential to repeat a run in 2010 that saw them beat multiple SEC heavyweights. He said:

“We’ve shown it in the past too, Paul. You go back; my last year as an assistant coach with Steve Spurrier was 2010, and we beat Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Clemson, Alabama.”

South Carolina will start their 2025 campaign on Aug. 31 with a game against Virginia Tech. Missouri, LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss and Clemson are some of the difficult matchups the Gamecocks will have this season.

About the author

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

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Edited by Krutik Jain