Spencer Rattler exceeds the hype in first start for Oklahoma football

Spencer Rattler, the nation’s No. 1 quarterback recruit in the 2019 class blew the doors down in his first start for Oklahoma football and looks like the next Heisman hopeful for Lincoln Riley.

It only took one half to realize Spencer Rattler was worthy of all the hype.

Oklahoma football has created a reputation of being the home to Heisman-winning quarterbacks ever since Lincoln Riley was hired as the team’s head coach. Baker Mayfield won in 2017 and Kyler Murray earned the trophy in 2018. What do those two players have in common? They were both first-overall selections in back-to-back NFL Drafts.

With Riley’s track record, Sooners fans were beyond excited about what he could do with top recruit Rattler. There was a tremendous amount of hype surrounding Rattler ever since his playing days at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Az., and so far, he’s lived up to it in his college football debut.

In his first test on Saturday, Rattler dominated the Missouri State Bears by the score of 41-0…at halftime! In fact, Rattler didn’t take a single snap in the second half, as Riley rested him for the remainder of the game. In the game’s first 30 minutes, Rattler completed 14-of-17 pass attempts for 290 yards and four touchdowns.

Spencer Rattler lives up to the hype in first career start for Oklahoma football

Rattler made a name for himself in high school, as he completed 62.2-percent of his passes for 11,083 yards, 116 touchdowns and 33 interceptions in four seasons, per MaxPreps. Rattler was rated by 247 Sports as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 11 overall recruit of the 2019 class and received offers from programs such as Alabama, Notre Dame and Michigan State. But, Rattler made the decision to join Oklahoma.

Wasting no time, Rattler threw a deep pass to receiver Marvin Mims for a 58-yard touchdown just five minutes into the game. Three minutes later, Rattler hit a wide-open Charleston Rambo for a 53-yard score, followed by a 37-yard touchdown on the next drive. At the conclusion of the first quarter, Rattler completed 8-of-9 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Again, this all happened in the first quarter!

Rattler would only throw for one touchdown in the second quarter, and we say that sarcastically. He would hit Rambo again for a 15-yard touchdown and finished the quarter completing 6-of-8 pass attempts for 91 yards.

Simply put, Rattler was impressive through two quarters of work on Saturday evening. Rattler treated Missouri State like they were the computer on easy mode in “Madden NFL 21!” While many will reserve judgment until Rattler plays a competitive school, you can’t deny that Rattler has lived up to the hype in just one college football game.

With his first start in the books, Rattler will look to put up a similar performance in two weeks when the Sooners host the Kansas State Wildcats on Sept. 26.

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