Evaluation: What Syracuse is Getting in LaNorris Sellers

SI All-American's John Garcia Jr. breaks down the Orange's first 2023 commit.

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Syracuse football picked up its first commitment in the 2023 class on Sunday and it's a big one in quarterback LaNorris Sellers. We spoke with SI All-American's John Garcia Jr. to break down what the Orange is getting. 

"I'm so intrigued here," Garcia Jr. said. "This is a 6-3 kid, compact delivery who will remind you a little bit of Ryan Nassib from a delivery standpoint. It's quick, it's concise and this is a big, physical athlete on top of that. And we didn't get the full sample in his junior year because of an injury. You've got a shortened sample, about one month of games, and you saw LaNorris taking his game to the next level. What I love more than the physical profile and the arm, is a maturity that he plays with. One, that gives me confidence that he will bounce back from the injury. He's already throwing again, things are in motion there. Two, the decision making maturity he shows on tape is built for the modern game. Can he run? Is he a big athlete who can move? Yes. But does he move to buy his receivers time more so than scramble, and get six or seven yards? Yes, he does. 

"He's got an impressive internal clock that allows him to escape, but he wants to move to throw the football. I think in a modern spread kind of offense like Syracuse wants to run, you need that type of point guard at the quarterback position. Who, yes you can grab six or seven yards, but if you slide to the left and give your receiver a little bit more time, it could be a 50 yard play. We all know the metrics of chunk plays and 20-plus yard plays and how that correlates to winning. It's basically the new turnover battle. So if you have a quarterback that's that much more inclined to make the big play, I think it is always a risk you're willing to take as a coaching staff. I see all of that in his game. The physicality, the maturity, and now you're probably going to see a chip on his shoulder. Because he was deprived of a bulk of his junior season, which is always the most critical for quarterbacks. 

"I think in that regard, it's a diamond in the rough for Syracuse in that if he plays the full junior season and has more production, maybe he gets 10 more offers or 12 more offers. And this is a totally different recruitment, at least from a timeline perspective. I think this is kind of aligned really well for Syracuse with Sellers. But again, at the bare minimum, big, physical, mature decision maker who can project as a dual threat. A lot of boxes you want to check in the modern offensive game." 

More from John on Sellers in the video at the top of the page.