How new South Carolina football coordinator could help Spencer Rattler's draft stock rise
COLUMBIA — At this time last year, South Carolina football fans expected to get only one season from quarterback Spencer Rattler. Now the former five-star is preparing for his second preseason as the Gamecocks' starter.
Rattler was the No. 1 quarterback prospect and a projected first-round NFL Draft pick coming out of high school in 2019, but his stock shifted significantly when he was benched at Oklahoma for Caleb Williams in 2021. Rattler had a tumultuous first season transferring to South Carolina, leading him to forgo the 2023 draft for another run in Columbia.
A key factor in that decision was new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, who spent 16 years in the NFL, serving as quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns in 2014, the Chicago Bears in 2015 and the New York Jets from 2019-20.
Loggains worked with the gamut of QBs in the league, from a college star that flopped in Johnny Manziel to a veteran starter in Jay Cutler, and he sees Rattler's pro potential as sky-high.
"He's got all the talent," Loggains said. "He can make every throw. He can extend plays. He can throw off platform, all the guru words people use. He has all that."
The Gamecocks' offensive coordinator said Rattler's passion for playing in the NFL jumped out immediately. He is constantly asking questions about quarterbacks Loggains worked with, and he studied Netflix's "Quarterbacks" documentary series like film to get inside the minds of the featured NFL players.
"It's 'How was (Tony) Romo when he was a rookie?' 'How was Mitchell Trubisky and what was his transition like?'" Loggains said. "Or it's 'I watched ("Quarterbacks"), what was Kirk Coursins checking down to there?' ... That's his why. He wants to play in the National Football League, and he knows winning here and playing well helps him get there."
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Loggains also sees Rattler's experience playing in so many different offenses as an advantage at the NFL level. At Oklahoma he worked under Lincoln Riley, now the coach at Southern Cal who was mentored by Mike Leach. Marcus Satterfield, now the offensive coordinator at Nebraska, called the Gamecocks' offense for two years after spending a season with the Carolina Panthers.
"It makes it harder for a quarterback, but playing in multiple systems will help him," Loggains said, "If he could sit in one system for four years, there's probably more (college) success that would come ... so that's been a challenge for him, but it will be a strength for the next level because you've heard three different guys coach you ... Those exposures will help him, and I think we can tie it all together."
Rattler's 2024 NFL Draft projections sit in the Round 2-3 range after he threw for 3,026 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 66.2% completion in 2022. Loggains said NFL teams want to see improvement in the quarterback's decision-making.
"We've got to cut back on the turnovers. He knows that, and I hope that he would tell you that, too," Loggains said. "He needs to play clean football for a full season, and we need to win the close games ... In a close game, a two-minute drill, most of the time the best quarterback wins the game. If we cut down on turnovers to give us a chance in these tight SEC one-score games, we have to win them in the end."
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Spencer Rattler draft stock can rise with new South Carolina football OC
