Virginia Tech's Brent Pry spoke to the media and previewed South Carolina on Tuesday during media availability.
Virginia Tech’s head coach, Brent Pry, previewed the Hokies’ Week 1 matchup with South Carolina on Tuesday. During that time, he spoke at length praising the starting quarterback for the Gamecocks, LaNorris Sellers.
“First of all, I think the hype surrounding LaNorris (is) accurate,” Pry said. “You watch the Clemson game, you watch the Missouri game, I mean, this guy just whether he’s throwing it and certainly doing it with his legs. He’s very hard to tackle. He’s got great field presence. He’s a great competitor, and he’s got tremendous size.”
Coming out of South Florence High School, Sellers twice committed to other colleges before landing in Columbia. On July 24, 2021, Sellers committed to Virginia Tech’s rival, Virginia. However, he decommitted from the Cavaliers in January 2022 shortly after receiving an offer from Syracuse. Sellers committed to the Orange in March of that year and stayed committed until Dec. 23 that same year, when he flipped his commitment to the Gamecocks.
“I remember when he was coming out, I believe he was committed somewhere else and flipped to South Carolina, and everybody was kind of curious about what type of player, what type of quarterback he was going to be,” Pry said. “But they’ve done a great job with him. He’s a pretty special guy. Obviously, we have to have a plan for him.”
Elsewhere, Pry had praise for a few of South Carolina’s starting defenders in both the defensive front and backfield. The Gamecocks were fourth in the SEC with 1.8 turnovers forced per game last season and fifth with just 18.1 points allowed.
“So I would think their talent level is one of the best in that league. Defensively, everybody talks about (Dylan) Stewart and rightfully so. You’ve got to have a plan for him,” Pry said. “But on the other side, that guy’s a pretty good player too. You’ve got to worry about him. So I think they got their safety. (DQ Smith) is one of the best I’ve seen since I’ve been at Tech on film.”
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Smith recorded a forced fumble in every one of his first three seasons with South Carolina. Additionally, he also recorded an interception during those three seasons in Columbia. Last year’s pick came in the 50-7 victory over Akron at home.
Stewart, on the edge, is now a household name. The D.C. native was selected to the Coaches’ All-SEC Freshman team last season and named a Freshman All-American by FWAA. Stewart tallied 6.5 sacks as a freshman in the 2024 season, including three tackles for loss against Ole Miss.
Though Virginia Tech is the first opponent on South Carolina’s schedule, Pry is not the first figure to praise Sellers. Recently, Todd McShay referred to Sellers as a “first-tier” prospect in next year’s draft. College football analyst Josh Pate also had high praise for the Florence native. On “Up and Adams” by Kay Adams, Pate said Sellers “could be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.”
South Carolina kicks off against Virginia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday. The game will air at 3 p.m. EST on ESPN.
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Category: General Sports
