Oklahoma football: 5 breakout players to watch in 2020

Oklahoma football breakout candidate No. 1: Spencer Rattler, QB

Under Lincoln Riley, it’s been one quarterback success story after another. First, it was Baker Mayfield completing his journey from walk-on to Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Kyler Murray filled his shoes, also winning the Heisman and going No. 1. And while Jalen Hurts didn’t do either of those things, he was still a star, far more so than he was at Alabama.

What we haven’t seen from Riley in terms of his quarterbacks, however, is what he’s capable of accomplishing with a home-grown talent. We’ll almost surely get that answer in the 2020 season, though, as former 5-star recruit Spencer Rattler steps into the mix and gets his shot at being the next great Sooners quarterback.

Playing behind Hurts and Tanner Mordecai last year, Rattler saw extremely limited work. He appeared in only three games, going 7-of-11 for 81 yards and a touchdown along with three rushes for 23 yards. But given his pedigree from when he was coming out of high school, there are a ton of reasons to be excited about what this kid can do.

Rattler has a cannon for an arm and the athleticism to continue being a dual-threat star in Riley’s system, even if less reliant on that than Hurts was last season. Considering what quarterbacks have done in this system and the talent that the young Rattler has, you’d be foolish to not consider him one of the biggest breakout candidates in the country for the 2020 season.

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