Behind the Scenes Sellers vs Lagway pt.2
Let’s be real, the bowl game is clouding people’s perception right now. It was a rough day for Sellers, no doubt. He was working with a new play caller, a new scheme, and looked out of sync. It was the last game of the year, and because it didn’t go well, it’s stuck in people’s minds. That’s what happens with national narratives, recency bias becomes gospel. Meanwhile, Lagway played against a Tulane team that was a shell of itself, missing several starters, and still threw awful red zone interceptions. But somehow, that part of the story isn’t being told.
Sellers might be the best running quarterback of the decade and that’s not an exaggeration. His unique blend of acceleration, explosiveness, and elusiveness is unmatched. He rushed for 674 yards on 166 carries, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Lagway, by comparison, had 102 yards on 51 attempts, averaging just 2.0 YPC. There’s no debate here. Sellers is on a different level. He can run through defenders, around them, or make them miss entirely. There are plays where SEC defenders, who are world class athletes, come at him full speed and just bounce off him like they hit a wall. He’s a transformer in the backfield, a weapon who forces defenses to account for him on every snap. "With a retooled offensive line, the product of Beamer’s recruiting focus on the front, this system is finally positioned to bring out the best in Sellers.
Where LaNorris Sellers truly begins to separate himself is in high-leverage moments the kind of pressure situations that reveal a quarterback’s mental makeup. His most defining plays have come when the stakes are highest. It’s no surprise that he’s drawing high level praise from those at the next level. One anonymous NFL general manager said of Sellers: “He’s the smartest quarterback we’ve evaluated since Andrew Luck. He makes a mistake once, corrects it, and doesn’t make it again.”
Against Missouri, with under a minute left and trailing by four, Sellers calmly led a 70 yard touchdown drive, showcasing elite command and decision making. His performance against Clemson was even more striking. In one of the fiercest rivalry games in college football, with a potential playoff spot still in play, Sellers put the team on his back. On 3rd and 16, on the road, under the lights, and with the game and season hanging in the balance, he delivered what may have been the most impressive individual play of the college football season. There isn’t another player in the country who could have made that play. Etching himself into the history books of this storied rivalry. That same game, he broke 18 tackles, setting a PFF era record for most broken tackles by any quarterback or running back in a single game. He truly was a man on a mission and he wasn’t going to be denied.
One of the most persistent narratives this offseason is the idea that “if DJ Lagway hits, he has the highest ceiling in the country.” It’s a common talking point among national analysts, but when you look at the total picture physically, mentally, and situationally it’s an argument that doesn’t hold up. Physically, Sellers checks every box. He’s bigger than Lagway. He’s faster. He’s a far more dynamic runner, arguably the most dangerous dual threat quarterback in the country. He has a very similar arm in terms of velocity and deep ball capability. And unlike most quarterbacks with this level of raw athleticism, he’s already shown he can process the game, make smart decisions, and lead through adversity. Imagine what Sellers is going to be with another offseason of development, a restructured offensive scheme tailored to his strengths, and a more stable O-line in front of him. The tape proves it. The stats prove it. The results prove it.
