On Oct. 9, 2021, Spencer Rattler‘s football career took a sharp turn.
To open the second half of Oklahoma‘s Red River Showdown matchup against Texas, Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley benched Rattler, who previously looked like a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, for freshman Caleb Williams, who helped Oklahoma overcome a once-21-point deficit to win. Williams kept the starting job for the rest of the season, and Rattler transferred to South Carolina following the 2021 college football season.
“The past is the past. We’re focused on the present and the future, but I would say, yeah, that definitely led me to South Carolina. It was a blessing in disguise that I got to play with the Gamecocks and develop there and get ready to the league after that,” Rattler said about his college benching on Wednesday, according to NFL.com.
Across his two seasons at South Carolina (2022-23), Rattler averaged 3,106 passing yards, 18.5 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 143.2 passer rating per season, while completing 67.5% of his passes.
Prior to transferring to South Carolina, Rattler was Oklahoma’s starting quarterback in 2020 – when he led the Big 12 in passing yards (3,031), passing touchdowns (28), passer rating (172.6) and completion percentage (67.5%) across 11 games – and through the beginning portion of 2021.
The No. 1 quarterback recruit in the Class of 2019, Rattler looked poised to be the next great Oklahoma quarterback under Riley (e.g. Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts) and go on to be a high draft pick in the NFL. Ironically, Williams also transferred after 2021, following Riley from Oklahoma to USC, with whom he won the 2022 Heisman Trophy Award and went on to be selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, Rattler was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the No. 150 pick.
The two quarterbacks cross paths for the first time in the NFL this week in Chicago, as the Bears host the Saints.
“Just how to deal with adversity,” Rattler said about what he learned from his college experience. “It’s not the first time a quarterback had to go through that, so I’m not the only one. But adversity, it’s the quarterback position, it’s what comes with the job. You’ve got to deal with it and move onto the next.”
Rattler said that he puts himself up against “any” quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft class. Six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 selections of the aforementioned draft: Williams, 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix.
Rattler started the last six games of his rookie season for the Saints in 2024 and has continued to be their starting quarterback this season. Through six games this season, Rattler has totaled 1,217 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, one interception and a 91.9 passer rating, while completing 68.5% of his passes. He has also rushed for 143 yards. Granted, the Saints are 1-5 and 1-11 total in the games that Rattler has started.
Catch the Week 7 matchup between Rattler’s Saints and Williams’ Bears on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app.
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