Is LaNorris Sellers Really the Best Player in the Country?

Lanorris Sellers is the starting quarterback for the University of South Carolina. He is a solid football player who has a ton of upside potential. But is he the best player in the country?

According to ESPN TV announcer Louis Riddick he is. During last night’s broadcast, Riddick literally said, “Lanorris Sellers is the best player in the country”. Look, I’m all for people stating their opinion, but at least give us that disclaimer first. And if you make claims like this, there had better be ample evidence backing them. So, let’s take a look at Lanorris Sellers.

Sellers entered this season as the returning starter for the Gamecocks. He is coming off a season that saw his team go 9-4 overall, having beaten Clemson & Texas A&M along the way. They lost to LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama before dropping their bowl game to Illinois.

Sellers himself had an impressive statline: 196-299 , 2,549 yards (65.9% completion) with 18 passing TD’s and 7 interceptions. He also ran for 674 yards and 7 TD’s. Although these stats are nice and a 9-4 is as well… the best player in the country?

In last night’s game where South Carolina was able to pull away from Virginia Tech after only leading 10-8 at halftime, Sellers statline was 12-19, 209 yards and a passing TD. He also had 13 rushes for 25 yards and a TD. Again, decent numbers but hardly MVP caliber.

Oddsmakers don’t seem to agree with Louis Riddick either. Coming into the weekend, Heisman Trophy odds didn’t reflect Riddick’s opinion. That’s because Sellers was tied for 5th place in the betting odds with Drew Allar (Penn State). Here is exactly what the Heisman Odds looked like:

Cade Klubnik (15/2)
Garrett Nussmeier (15/2)
Jeremiah Smith (13-1)
Arch Manning (13-1)
Drew Allar (16-1)
Lanorris Sellers (16-1)

I guess my question to Riddick would be “what have you seen that oddsmakers and just about every sportswriter hasn’t which makes Lanorris Sellers the best player in the country?”. It certainly wasn’t the game last night. He played well enough to get the win but 200 yards passing, 25 yards rushing and 2 TD’s doesn’t scream Heisman Trophy to me. Last season’s stats don’t either.

Sellers may go on to have a great season and move upward in the Heisman Trophy odds but currently he is NOT the best player in the country. Maybe Riddick should open an account at one of these sportsbooks and put his money where his mouth is. He could really clean up. Otherwise, he just appears to be a guy that maybe had one cup of coffee too many during pre-game rehearsals and it got him all up in his feels.