What people are saying about former Pinnacle star, South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler
Arizona High School football legend, former Pinnacle High School star Spencer Rattler, has yet to be drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The South Carolina product still has four more rounds of the draft to be selected, however, as Day 3 kicked off on Saturday morning. There are many different sentiments flying around about Rattler, as there always has been. Rattler was a rather polarizing figure due to behavior that was deemed controversial when filmed for the Netflix docuseries; ''QB1: Beyond the Lights."
Interestingly, the story of the day when it comes to Rattler has so far been his South Carolina head coach sticking up for his two-year starter. Shane Beamer reacted to rumors reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel that much of the skepticism about Rattler comes down to attitude and work ethic concerns:
Such a tired , lazy narrative. And bullcrap
None of the NFL teams that called me said that….And any team that thinks that clearly hasn’t done their research
He dealt w adversity at OU in a class way , came to SC , was a great player and was voted by his TEAMMATES as a… https://t.co/9w3tTgjtzD— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) April 27, 2024
Beamer and Rattler went 13-12 in their two years together in Columbia. They went 8-5 in 2022 and finished 23rd in the final AP Poll. They went 5-7 this past year.
Not all of the reaction has been negative, though. Gamecock Digest's (Sports Illustrated's South Carolina publication) Andrew Lyon posted a long list of reasons on X as to why teams should select Rattler:
Reasons why your team should draft Spencer Rattler:
- Quick release
- Extremely accurate
- Can throw the ball inside the pocket and on the run at multiple arm angles
- Knows how to navigate the pocket
- Has two years of experience in a pro-style offense
- Voted a team captain in…— Andrew Lyon (@ALyon_SC) April 27, 2024
In Rattler's two years at South Carolina, after he transferred from Oklahoma, Rattler completed 67.5% of his passes. He recorded 7.8 pass yards per attempt and 7.6 adjusted pass yards per attempt, but posted eight yards per attempt and eight adjusted yards per attempt in his final season. He scored 44 total touchdowns to 20 interceptions over the two campaigns.
The Athletic and FOX's Bruce Feldman reported that NFL coaches that he talked with are fans of Rattler.
"He’s changing arm angles, trajectories. I think he’s a real guy. He likes the flash but he likes to be coached and his technique is real good..."
NFL Draft analyst Mike Renner even had Rattler as his seventh-best available player remaining in the draft as it enters Day 3.
My best available on Day 3:
44. KU DE Austin Booker
53. PSU TE Theo Johnson
63. FSU WR/TE Johnny Wilson
70. WSU S Jaden Hicks
71. BC G Christian Mahogany
72. UW LB Edefuan Ulofoshio
74. SC QB Spencer Rattler
77. ISU CB T.J. Tampa— Mike Renner (@mikerenner_) April 27, 2024
After Rattler's strong performance at the Reese's Senior Bowl earlier this year, he put himself in position to potentially be taken in the middle rounds. He will be selected at some point, regardless.
While he will likely begin his career as a backup, he is no stranger to adversity. He was benched for 2024 No. 1 overall NFL Draft selection Caleb Williams when the two were at Oklahoma. Rattler flashed talent as early as his Pinnacle days, where he was the 2018 Elite 11 MVP, and was ranked as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback recruit in the country per 247Sports. It is likely just a matter of time before Rattler's dream of playing in the NFL comes to fruition.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What they are saying: Takes on Spencer Rattler ahead of NFL Draft Day 3