Former Arizona high school football QB Spencer Rattler turning heads at Senior Bowl

Former Arizona High School football standout and South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler has been killing the competition at the Reese's Senior Bowl this week.

Rattler, who was born and raised in Phoenix, starred at Pinnacle High School. Averaging 14.5 yards per pass attempt and 263.9 pass yards per game throughout all four years, Rattler finished his high school career as the No. 1 college pro-style quarterback recruit in America per 247Sports. A five-star prospect, he ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the state and the No. 9 overall recruit in the nation (all per 247Sports).

At the Senior Bowl, Rattler has been tossing darts all over the field in one of his most important opportunities to showcase his talents to NFL scouts before the 2024 NFL Draft in April. Here are some highlights that media members in Mobile, Alabama posted on X this week:

Being in the conversation of 'Best QB' at the Senior Bowl is huge for Rattler. He went through some ups and downs as a college QB during his time at both Oklahoma and South Carolina, where he transferred to after losing his starting QB gig at OU to projected No. 1 overall 2024 NFL Draft selection Caleb Williams.

All eyes were going to be on Rattler, as the jury was still out on him after a confusing 2023 campaign. Rattler's numbers were not bad: He posted a 68.9% completion percentage (11th in the country), 8 yards per pass attempt and 23 total touchdowns (19 passing) to eight interceptions. That being said, the team went just 5-7 with the offense scoring only 26 points per game (75th in the country).

Rattler has made good use of the Senior Bowl invite, however. He has said that he "spoke with (the Patriots) a few times along with other teams" per Zac Ventola. There has been heavy speculation that the New England Patriots will be looking to draft a quarterback with the third overall pick in this upcoming draft. They also own the second pick of the second round, and the fourth pick of the third round.

Rattler was expected to play in the NFL when he was dominating at the high school ranks in Phoenix. Not only was Rattler the 2018 Elite 11 MVP, but he also was selected to be featured on the Netflix docuseries 'QB1: Beyond the Lights,' where the Netflix crew documented his senior season at Pinnacle.

His season was cut short after he received a controversial suspension from Pinnacle and was ruled ineligible for the remainder of the season. He was only able to log seven games that season, but did boast a career-high 66.5% completion percentage in the games he played that year. He also averaged 15.4 yards per pass attempt, 266.1 pass yards per game and scored 26 total touchdowns (23 passing) to three interceptions.

Rattler was rewarded for that performance with an All-American Bowl selection. All in all, Rattler scored 130 total touchdowns (116 passing) to 33 interceptions in his time at Pinnacle. He also ran for 1,040 yards on the ground via a 4.3 yards per carry average.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona high school football star Spencer Rattler crushing Senior Bowl