He caught a long TD pass from LaNorris Sellers in 2023. Can he be a top target in 2024?

It looked like the future in the present. A glimpse into the highlights of tomorrow, of the next few South Carolina football seasons.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers was just one pass into his college career, playing in the third quarter of what would become a 26-point USC win over Furman.

He bounced in the pocket and found an acre of free land. Sellers shuffled forward twice, then unloaded. It looked like a Nerf ball. It left the frame of the television broadcast for a second, then fell to the earth like an arrow.

Over 50 yards away, freshman wide receiver Tyshawn Russell caught the pigskin in stride, scoring a touchdown before using Williams-Brice Stadium’s hedges to halt himself. Russell was on the outside and had Furman’s zone defense beat in about five steps. He looked back to Sellers and stuck his arm up, the visual representation of “Dude, I’m wide open.”

Then Russell took off, out-sprinting another Furman defensive back without taking his eyes off the 50-yard touchdown.

Yes, it came in garbage time of a Week 2 victory over Furman. But it was the first South Carolina highlight for Sellers — and Russell.

“It was a good moment as a freshman, a lot of freshman don’t get a (50)-yard bomb down the field,” Russell said. “It was a good moment for me. It was memorable. But I just try and look past it because that was the past. I’ve got bigger things coming up.”

This offseason has been all about Sellers, the redshirt freshman from Florence who is likely to be Spencer Rattler’s heir as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback. The problem: It’s unclear whom he’s going to throw the ball to.

The Gamecocks have five solid transfers — Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (Louisville), Dalevon Coleman (Nevada), Gage Larvadain (Miami of Ohio), Jared Brown (Coastal Carolina) and Vandrevius Jacobs (Florida State) — along with a stud freshman in Mazeo Bennett. But all are unproven against SEC competition.

As far as familiar faces, guys Sellers has spent considerable time around, that list is thin. It basically includes Nyck Harbor, who missed all of spring ball while running track, redshirt senior Luke Doty and Russell.

The latter appeared in 10 games last season, catching five passes for 81 yards.

At just 5-foot-11, one of South Carolina’s many smaller pass catchers, Russell put on weight after last season, bulking up from 170 to 190 pounds. Even with the bigger body, though, he’s still one of the faster players on the roster, noting he’s hit a top speed in practice over 22 mph.

Russell, though, has always had speed.

A former three-star prospect out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Russell began his career at defensive back before playing wide receiver as a senior. In his one year of being a high school pass catcher, he racked up 61 catches for over 1,300 yards, 22 scores all while helping Bishop McDevitt High to a state title.

That’s what speed and athleticism produced. The goal now is for Russell to learn from new wide receivers coach Mike Furrey — an NFL veteran who also played both defensive back and wide receiver — and take the next steps with the craft.

“(Furrey’s harped upon) everything. For real,” Russell said. “Route running. Coming out of breaks. Changing your speed. There’s a lot you have to do as a receiver, you can’t be just strictly speed. I know sometimes people say, ‘Speed kills.’ But you have to learn how get off on the line, release, there’s a lot that goes into it.”

With a wide-open wide receiver position, there’s no reason to think Russell won’t contribute in 2024. No reason to think the Sellers-to-Russell connection we saw in the past won’t repeat itself.