Spencer Rattler's college career, explained: From Netflix to Oklahoma to South Carolina

If nothing else, Spencer Rattler’s football odyssey has been eventful.

Over the course of his five years in college, and with one season of eligibility remaining beyond 2023, the South Carolina redshirt senior quarterback has gone from a ballyhooed recruit destined for greatness to a reclamation project in desperate need of someone to tap into his vast potential.

As the Gamecocks prepare to face No. 19 Tennessee Saturday, Rattler stands as one of the most fascinating and polarizing players in the sport. He hasn’t lived up to the immense heights so many projected for him coming out of high school, but as his performance last year against the Volunteers in a 63-38 victory over a then-top-five team showed, he’s still an unmistakably special talent.

In advance of South Carolina’s game this weekend at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, let’s take a look back at Rattler’s decorated high-school career, his college recruitment, why he transferred from Oklahoma to South Carolina and what he has done since for the Gamecocks.

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Spencer Rattler reality show, high school career

The seeds of the hype surrounding Rattler coming into college were planted during a wildly successful run at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona.

There, Rattler became the all-time leading passer in Arizona high school history, a record he broke on his 18^th birthday. Over his four years at Pinnacle, he threw for 11,083 yards and 116 touchdowns while rushing for more than 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns.

During that time, he began to develop a profile and reputation that went far beyond his home state.

In 2018, heading into his senior year of high school, he was named the MVP of the prestigious Elite 11 quarterback competition, becoming the first player from Arizona to accomplish the feat. As a senior, he was a subject for the third season of "QB1: Beyond the Lights," a Peter Berg-directed documentary series that followed three senior high-school quarterbacks from different parts of the country.

“A lot of people seem to forget it is a reality TV show,” Rattler said. “At that time, I was 16-17 years old, having fun with my buddies in high school. We all were our authentic self in high school. I think people around sports see that competition side come out of you in different ways. My character is definitely not portrayed well in that show. That is just how it was made. I am five or six years grown from that, and hopefully I have changed a little bit. I definitely have. I am a very competitive guy and also a very caring person. That is what I would have to say to those folks.”

Spencer Rattler high school suspension

His high school career, however, came to a sudden, unexpected and puzzling end.

In Oct. 2018, two weeks after he became the first player in Arizona history to surpass 11,000 career passing yards, Rattler was ruled ineligible for the rest of the season after violating what was termed as a “district code of conduct policy.”

At the advice of his parents and school, Rattler initially said he was sitting out because of an MCL injury. The exact reason for the disciplinary action has been the subject of endless speculation, but Rattler, his parents and the school have never revealed what it was. Rattler spoke about it in generalities in the "QB1" documentary, describing it as a “childish and dumb mistake.”

"He was not doing drugs at school," Rattler’s father, Michael, said. "He was not having sex at school. All this stuff is dumb. If it was just some kid that didn't have his profile, you would never hear about any of this. This is something that he has to learn — is that he has that platform now. And with that platform comes responsibility."

Spencer Rattler’s college recruitment

Rattler’s cartoonish numbers, success on national platforms like Elite 11 and exposure as the subject of a Netflix series helped make him not only one of the most sought-after quarterback recruits in his class, but in recent memory.

Rattler was rated by 247Sports as a five-star recruit and the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class. He was the No. 11 prospect overall nationally, ranking him above the likes of, among others, Nakobe Dean, Garrett Wilson, Travon Walker, George Pickens and Bo Nix in the top 50.

A scouting report from 247 described Rattler as the “most natural thrower in the 2019 class” and someone who “could be a transcendent college quarterback.”

Given that, Rattler was pursued by virtually every college in the country. Ultimately, he committed to Oklahoma and coach Lincoln Riley in June 2017, only about a week after he visited the school’s Norman campus.

Spencer Rattler’s college career

Oklahoma

Rattler played sparingly as a freshman in 2019 as he backed up Jalen Hurts, who went on to finish second in Heisman Trophy voting that season while leading Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff. He threw 11 passes across three appearances late in lopsided games, including a 63-28 loss to eventual national champion LSU in the CFP semifinals. Given that he only played in three games, Rattler was able to redshirt.

With Hurts off to the NFL, Rattler was named the Sooners’ starter ahead of the 2020 season, beating out Tanner Mordecai, who would later transfer to SMU. By winning the job, Rattler was stepping into a coveted position. Two of his immediate predecessors, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, had ridden Riley’s high-powered offense to Heisman Trophy-winning seasons and a third, Hurts, transformed himself from a limited passer into a second-round NFL Draft pick.

Given his history and immense promise, Rattler seemed to be the Sooners’ next great player at the position.

In his first two starts in 2020, he threw for eight touchdowns passes, tying a school record set by Sam Bradford. Oklahoma got off to an underwhelming 1-2 start, which included its first loss at Iowa State since 1960, but rebounded to win its final eight games, including the Big 12 championship and the Cotton Bowl. In those eight wins, Rattler threw for 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Between his strong finish to the season and Riley’s history with quarterbacks, Rattler was the preseason betting Heisman Trophy favorite heading into the 2021 season.

He fell well short of those lofty expectations. Even as Oklahoma carried an undefeated record into mid-November, Rattler disappointed, throwing just five touchdowns to three interceptions in his first four games against FBS teams that season. In a 16-13 home win against West Virginia on Sept. 25, Oklahoma fans chanted “We want Caleb,” in reference to highly touted backup quarterback Caleb Williams, after a Rattler interception.

In the Sooners’ annual rivalry game against Texas, Rattler struggled, completing only eight of his 15 passes and throwing an interception. After the Longhorns capitalized on a Rattler fumble to go up 35-17 in the second quarter, Rattler was benched in favor of Williams, who ultimately guided Oklahoma to a thrilling, come-from-behind 55-48 victory.

Williams remained the Sooners’ starter for the rest of the season, with Rattler throwing only 12 more passes across his team’s final seven games.

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Why did Spencer Rattler transfer to South Carolina?

On Nov. 29, 2021, only one day after Riley left Oklahoma to become the new USC coach, Rattler entered the transfer portal.

Even if Riley remained with the Sooners, it’s unlikely Rattler would have done the same.

With Williams — who ended up following Riley to USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy last season — entrenched as the starter, Mike Giovando, Rattler’s quarterback coach since middle school, told the Arizona Republic that Rattler would not remain at Oklahoma after the 2021 season, describing it as “a no-brainer.” In a 2022 interview with ESPN, Rattler described his final season at Oklahoma as “a toxic situation.”

“I think it was just time to move on,” Rattler said. “I don’t think I was going to wait. It was just time to move on and I’m happy I did.”

Despite his shortcomings in 2021, Rattler had no shortage of suitors after he left the Sooners. Arizona State, Oregon, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Pitt and UCLA were among the schools to reach out to him.

One option soon emerged above all the others. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was an assistant coach at Oklahoma for Rattler’s first two seasons there and quickly connected with him after he entered the portal. The Gamecocks were woeful offensively the previous season, averaging just 22.6 points per game, ahead of only Vanderbilt among SEC teams.

"Dude, people think you suck. You know what? People think I suck, too," then-South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield recalled telling Rattler in a 2022 interview with ESPN. "I've got a chip on my shoulder, and I can't imagine how big the chip on your shoulder is. Let's use that."

The existing connection with Beamer and Satterfield’s blunt approach worked. Without ever visiting campus, Rattler committed to the Gamecocks.

“I knew he was doing something special down here,” Rattler said of his decision. “I just wanted to come be a part of it.”

South Carolina

Before he even threw a pass for South Carolina, Rattler made his presence felt, landing an NIL deal with a local car dealership that provided him with a garnet-colored Chevy Silverado.

After winning the Gamecocks’ starting job heading into 2022, he exhibited some of the same inconsistencies that plagued him in his time at Oklahoma.

In his first eight games that season, he threw for only five touchdowns to nine interceptions while throwing for more than 230 yards just once. South Carolina earned important victories in that time – namely, a 24-14 win at No. 13 Kentucky in which Rattler completed 14 of his 19 passes and threw a 42-yard touchdown – but it wasn’t necessarily because of stellar play from its quarterback.

He left a strong final impression, though. In a blowout win against then-No. 5 Tennessee that knocked the Volunteers from CFP contention, Rattler threw for 438 yards and a program single-game record six touchdowns.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever felt in a game,” Rattler said after the game. “I felt unstoppable. This game and the next one could change the narrative of this program forever.”

Sure enough, he had more in store. The following week, Rattler passed for 360 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-30 road win against No. 8 Clemson, giving the Gamecocks their first win over their in-state rival since 2013.

With 38 points in a narrow loss to Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, a game in which Rattler threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, South Carolina averaged 32.2 points per game in 2022, up nearly 10 points from the previous season. Fewer than two weeks after the bowl loss, Rattler announced on social media that he would return to South Carolina, putting to rest any speculation that he may head to the NFL.

Though he didn’t land on any of the SEC’s three preseason all-conference teams, Rattler entered the 2023 season with fairly high hopes after the Gamecocks won their most games in a season since 2017, even after Satterfield left to become the offensive coordinator at Nebraska.

So far, it has been largely positive. Despite being sacked nine times in a season-opening loss to No. 20 North Carolina, he still threw for 353 yards and no interceptions. He didn’t fare as well against No. 1 Georgia in a 24-14 loss on Sept. 16, completing barely half of his passes and tossing two interceptions, but he rebounded nicely in a 37-30 win last Saturday against Mississippi State, completing 18 of his 20 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. It marked the second time this season Rattler connected on at least 90 percent of his throws in a game.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Spencer Rattler college career: Netflix to Oklahoma to South Carolina