If you’re a rather casual college football bettor, and you take a look at the odds to be the first player chosen in the NFL Draft at BetOnline, you may come across a name you’re not familiar with.
It’s LaNorris Sellers, and he’s right at the top:
Odds to be #1 choice in 2026 NFL Draft at BetOnline
LaNorris Sellers +300
Drew Allar +350
Garrett Nussmeier +350
Cade Klubnik +400
Arch Manning +600
Sam Leavitt +1600
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Lock in prices on LaNorris Sellers, Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik, Arch Manning, Sam Leavitt and more.
Yes, a lot of people have been expecting that it will be Manning, who’s entering his first season as a full-time starter at Texas; Nussmeier, the quarterback at LSU, is going to be playing in a number of high-profile games.
Those guys are in the ultra-competitive SEC, and so is the betting favorite.
Introducing LaNorris Sellers
Sellers is the quarterback at the University of South Carolina, and he may be the most dynamic player in the country this season.
He’s got great size for the NFL, at 6’3″ and 240 pounds. And he came to the Gamecocks with great high school numbers; as a senior he had 45 touchdown passes and also ran for 17 TD’s.
He spent a year as Spencer Rattler’s backup, then took the job and made it his own. Last season he threw for 2520 yards, with 18 TD’s and 674 rushing yards. The big highlight for him may have been a 166-yard effort in an upset win against Clemson. He doesn’t need to play a read option to run the ball either; he can just take a direct snap from center and run through the line.
The difference between last year and this year is that now there is a spotlight shining upon Sellers, so people are watching what he does.
He’ll make his season debut on Sunday against Virginia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Could Sellers get ready for the NFL? Some have doubts
If you listen to Sellers in an interview, you can sense that he is a sharp kid. He might be well-suited to adjusting to NFL defenses.
There are skeptics. In a recently-published ESPN story, one anonymous SEC coach offered a rather uncomplimentary quote.
“I can’t get behind the LaNorris Sellers hype,” the coach said. “He reminds me of Anthony Richardson.”
The Colts used a first-round pick on former Florida QB Anthony Richardson, but he later lost the job to Daniel Jones; the Giants released Jones last year.
The idea behind the quote, of course, is that Sellers might be like Richardson, in the respect that he has superior physical tools but is not too refined in the ability to play the position.
But Sellers would much rather emulate Cam Newton, who played pro ball in the Carolinas and won an MVP award in the NFL. He is a more accurate passer than Richardson. The rest is something we’ll have to find out.
Watch Sellers on Sunday
South Carolina and Virginia Tech tangle at 3 PM ET on Sunday in Atlanta (ESPN). The Gamecocks are a 7.5-point favorite (priced at -105), with a posted total of 52.5 points at BetOnline.
Sellers’ South Carolina team listed at +3300 to win the SEC title (Virginia Tech is +5000 to win the ACC).
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