In Spencer Rattler’s opening night showing for the South Carolina Gamecocks, the senior out of Phoenix connected on 30 of his 39 pass attempts in a 31-17 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The senior quarterback in his second season with the Gamecocks has had anything but a consistent, smooth road to his start for South Carolina on Saturday night.
After breaking the Arizona passing record at Pinnacle High School during his senior year, Rattler signed with the Oklahoma Sooners to play under Lincoln Riley.
Following a redshirted first year, he competed with Tanner Mordecai for the starting quarterback role during his freshman season and emerged as the victor. He finished his freshman season throwing for 1,483 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Going into his sophomore season, Rattler was a Heisman hopeful. With high expectations from the quarterback prior to the season, Rattler was benched in the Sooners sixth game of the season to Caleb Williams who led the team to a 55-48 win over Texas.
Rattler did not play the remainder of the year after losing his starting role to Williams and announced that he would be transferring to South Caroline in 2022 to continue his career.
In Rattler’s junior season with South Carolina, he threw for 3,026 yards with a 66% completion rate. He threw for 18 touchdowns, rushed for three and had 12 interceptions.
On Saturday night against the Tar Heels, he threw for 353 yards, completing 77% of his pass attempts. Rattler did not complete any touchdown passes, all 17 points for the Gamecocks came from rushing completions and field goals.
The defeat on opening night against North Carolina, a team that ended last season unranked, along with Rattler’s struggles in completing touchdown passes, has once again sparked concerns regarding what appears to be his final season in collegiate football.
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Taylyn Hadley is a sports and general assignment reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on X via @TAYLYNH11.
