Sellers and Kroeger Named SEC Players of the Week
University of South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers has been selected as the SEC’s co-Offensive Player of the Week and punter Kai Kroeger has been named the SEC’s co-Special Teams Player of the Week, the Southeastern Conference office announced today. The players were honored for their standout performances in the Gamecocks’ dramatic 17-14 win over Clemson on Saturday in the annual Palmetto Bowl.
Sellers, a 6-3, 242-pound redshirt freshman from Florence, S.C., rushed 16 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and completed 13-of-21 passes for 164 yards. He was responsible for 330 of the Gamecocks’ 431 total yards of offense. His touchdown runs came from 25- and 20-yards out, the second one coming with 1:08 remaining in the contest for the game-winning points. The 166 rushing yards were the fourth-highest single-game total by a quarterback in school history and the most for a Gamecock quarterback since 1974. He is the only Power-4 signal-caller to rush and pass for 150 yards in a game this season. Sellers forced 18 missed tackles according to ProFootballFocus, the most by a QB in a game recorded by PFF, dating back to 2014.
Sellers was also one of eight quarterbacks named to the Manning Award Stars of the Week.
This marks the fourth time that Sellers has been recognized by the SEC, all coming after wins over ranked opponents. Earlier this season, he was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Missouri and was the SEC Freshman of the Week after wins over Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
Kroeger, a 6-4, 213-pound super senior from Lake Forest, Ill., booted five punts for a 46.6-yard average in the win over the 12th-ranked Tigers. Kroeger recorded a net punting average of 46.4 yards and pinned Clemson inside their 20-yard line on three occasions, at the 4-, 12- and 9-yard lines in a game in which field position was critical. His longest punt of the day was a 58-yard bomb.
Kroeger has been honored as the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week six times during his career, most recently at Kentucky earlier this season.
The No. 13/12 Gamecocks (9-3, 5-3 SEC), winners of six-straight games, have completed their regular season and await their post-season destination.
