As we approach the 2025-26 college football season, more and more preseason lists are being released. One of the biggest on the radar is the All-SEC team.
On Sunday, Phil Steele dropped his edition in the 2025 College Football Preview Magazine and there were some expected names included. LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, Texas' Arch Manning, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers and Oklahoma's John Mateer rounded out the quarterback position respectively.
While all four are well-deserving of inclusion, the order may need some tweaking. Sellers appears to be undersold when you consider the resumes of the guys ahead of him.
LaNorris Sellers earns dark horse label with All-SEC snub
Despite Nussmeier finishing with 4,052 yards compared to Sellers' 2,534 yards, the latter arguably has a higher ceiling. Sellers ended 2024 with a 151.9 rating and only seven interceptions while Nussmeier ended with 142.7 and 12 picks.
South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers is dripping with NFL tools:
— Cory (@fakecorykinnan) May 1, 2025
+Massive arm
+creative outside of structure
+rare speed
+flashes on touch throws over the middle
+plus accuracy to every level of the field
+more refined pocket thrower than he gets credit for
+unbelievably… pic.twitter.com/YRIJlj1N4s
Those might seem like arbitrary metrics but they indicate Sellers is the more efficient passer. That's a quality that should be held in higher regard when considering potential success entering a season.
On top of that, Manning had a flash in the pan season last year. Placing him on the All-SEC second team is giving into the hype and name recognition. Sellers shouldn't be punished for being loyal to a second-rate program in the best conference in the sport. If he had transferred to another school, he'd get a lot more hype.
He also doesn't have the supporting cast Nussmeier and Manning have at premier programs like LSU and Texas. Despite that, he still managed to lead South Carolina to a 9-4 season and kept the Gamecocks in the College Football Playoff conversation right up until the very end.
Sellers has the best kind of bulletin board material entering this year. The All-SEC disrespect could be just what head coach Shane Beamer needs to get his locker room to kick things up to the next level. Keep an eye on things down in Columbia, the Gamecocks could be the 2025 version of Arizona State in the SEC.