Spencer Rattler thrilled to get out of ‘toxic’ situation at Oklahoma
By John Buhler
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is so happy to no longer be playing football for Oklahoma anymore.
Now at South Carolina, former Oklahoma starting quarterback Spencer Rattler is relieved to no longer play ball for the Sooners.
The former five-star recruit from Phoenix spent his first three college seasons playing for Lincoln Riley in Norman. He backed up Jalen Hurts as a true freshman in 2019. After an up-and-down 2020 season, Rattler lost his starting job to Caleb Williams mid-season last year. With Riley leaving for USC and Williams soon to follow, Rattle is happy to have found a new team in the SEC.
“A lot of guys don’t get another chance, to start over where they’re really wanted,” said Rattler to ESPN. “I was just happy to get away from a toxic situation and get somewhere new.
“Anywhere was going to be better, and I found the right place.”
Spencer Rattler refers to the Oklahoma football program as “a toxic situation”
Obviously, there is a lot to unpack here. Riley’s Oklahoma program may have been a bit more combustible than most outsiders even realized, but Rattler is not without fault either. Inconsistent play and questionable leadership traits led to him riding pine in the second half of the season to a fellow five-star quarterback who had not played ball in two years. It is just time to move on here.
Rattler goes to an on-the-rise team in the SEC East to play for a familiar face in Shane Beamer, who was on Riley’s Oklahoma staff prior to taking over in Columbia. Unlike Oklahoma, South Carolina is not expected to contend for conference championships or College Football Playoff berths. It is all about building on a winning season and eclipsing Beamer’s delicious mayo bath.
If all goes well for South Carolina, the Gamecocks can win nine games and push Kentucky or Tennessee for second place in the SEC East to juggernaut Georgia. More importantly, playing for a coach he trusts in new spot will allow the former five-star to play the best football of his college career in the toughest conference out there. This is how Rattler can reclaim his sunken draft stock.
It may be a stronger league, but look for Rattler to get back to playing some encumbered football.
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