$2.7 Million QB Listed Among ‘Most Disappointing Quarterbacks’ in College Football

The 2025 college football season delivered its share of unexpected breakouts, and a few even more surprising falls.

Cade Klubnik entered the year as a consensus top-tier starter, but Clemson’s offense and Klubnik’s efficiency declined as the season wore on. He finished with 2,943 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions, numbers that fell short of preseason expectations for a presumed NFL-caliber senior.

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier opened 2025 with legitimate Heisman buzz after a breakout 2024, but his campaign quickly derailed. His production dipped to 1,927 passing yards and 12 touchdowns, less than half of his output the previous season.

Drew Allar’s 2025 was defined more by availability than regression. He appeared in just six games, totaling 1,100 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and 172 rushing yards before an ankle injury ended his season and contributed to Penn State falling short of its preseason goals.

Now, amid those disappointing quarterback performances, another name has joined the conversation: South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, whom Bleacher Report noted on Wednesday “failed to live up to expectations.”

South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Lanorris Sellers. — South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Lanorris Sellers (16) passes against the Clemson Tigers | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Sellers was a well-regarded 2023 recruit out of South Florence (South Carolina), rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 18 overall quarterback in his class by 247Sports.

He drew nearly a dozen offers before initially committing to Syracuse in March 2022, later flipping to South Carolina.

He burst onto the scene in 2024, his first year as the starter, throwing for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns against just seven interceptions while adding 674 rushing yards and seven more scores on the ground. The dual-threat production immediately elevated expectations inside and outside the program.

By 2025, those expectations had ballooned. Sellers emerged as one of the highest-paid players in college football, reportedly carrying an NIL valuation of around $2.7 million.

But the follow-up season didn’t match the ascent. He finished with 2,437 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, along with 270 rushing yards and five rushing scores. His completion percentage dipped from 65.6% in 2024 to 60.8% in 2025, and the offense never quite found the same rhythm.

This broader wave of underperforming quarterbacks, some derailed by injuries, others by system fits or inconsistency, matters because quarterback stock drives everything. Draft projection, transfer decisions, staff stability, and recruiting momentum all hinge on that position.

For Sellers, 2026 now becomes pivotal. He’ll need to sharpen accuracy and decision-making this spring and summer to reestablish his trajectory and keep South Carolina’s offense moving forward.