LaNorris Sellers is South Carolina’s best asset, even though he has a few flaws to chip away at. But after his struggles in the 2025 season, Shane Beamer had to get a new offensive mastermind to bolster his game and the Gamecock offense. Beamer shared how Sellers unknowingly pushed the head coach toward eventually picking Kendal Briles for the job. 

Beamer said on The OG Kickoff podcast that when he was searching for his OC, he had flown Briles and his wife to Columbia on a private plane. He had planned to keep their meeting under wraps, in light of Briles’ job at TCU, and to avoid media frenzy. But as he was waiting to pick them up at the airport, Sellers sent him a text that caused Beamer to grow more confident about the coach.

“LaNorris literally texted me and said, ‘Hey, you know, the more I look at coaches and watch offenses. I’m really fired up about Kendal Briles at TCU,” Beamer narrated. “And I remember thinking, ‘Well, that’s a good sign.’”

Last season, Beamer’s program was in a bad spot under their former offensive coordinator, Mike Shula. The Gamecocks struggled while scoring 14 and lower in four games during a 3-6 start. This prompted Beamer to let go of Shula right then and there. Sellers, once touted to be among the best college football quarterbacks, nosedived in production. Despite starting for the full season, Sellers was able to score only 13 times and was picked 8 times.

On the other hand, the TCU offense surged under Kendal Briles. In 2024, Josh Hoover passed for a school-record 3,949 yards with 27 touchdowns, while the Horned Frogs football lit it up as a top-10 passing offense. Next year, the QB threw for 3,472 yards. The Horned Frogs were averaging 421.5 yards per game, while the Gamecocks were bringing 336.3 yards per game. At least TCU was able to save itself from a bad record by finishing 9-4 last year, the same finish as 2024. South Carolina, on the other hand, dropped to 4-8. 

Briles has proven that he can rebuild offenses, having increased the average yards per game at all of his stints as OC. And he plans to build the Gamecock offense around the skills of LaNorris Sellers. He told the media that things are still new with the team, having started spring practice a few weeks ago. But he plans to use more of the QB’s rushing abilities. The run game will be a key factor in the Gamecock offense, as he plans to deploy at least four running backs in every game.

Time will tell if Shane Beamer made the right choice with Briles. But looking at his offensive style, South Carolina’s offense seems to be in for a major upgrade. 

Shane Beamer’s new offensive coordinator has started preparations early 

Not to forget, Briles carries his father Art Briles’ legacy. The coach’s father is known for bringing the iconic Art’s school of Bear Raid/Veer-and-shoot offense. They want to crank up the tempo and put defenses at a tough spot. By doing so, Briles is able to force quick alignments, rushed decisions, and eventual mistakes. They will also mess with communication by going hard on the sideline, making it tougher for defensive coaches to get clean calls in before the snap.

This will bring freshness to Beamer’s offense, as neither of the three men who have called plays for the Gamecocks under him has followed this technique. In order to adapt to a new system, Briles has been taking daily classes for Sellers. During the last two months, he has exposed the quarterback to his offense by showing him clips from his TCU run. However, to Beamer’s quarterback, not everything is new. He has found a similarity between Briles’ offense and the one run by Dowell Loggains. 

Beamer must be hoping that Sellers gets the days back when he played fast and free under Loggains. And Briles already gave the quarterback the freedom. 

“Just play,” Sellers said. “He just wants (us) to be comfortable. He doesn’t want us to be robotic and all that.”

Sellers will hope for a season so productive that it seats him among the top candidates for the draft. For that to be possible, Briles will have to design an offense that makes the QB its hero, because he’s got the potential to be one. Maybe the duo was fated to be at South Carolina together after all.