Gators Preparing for ‘Electric’ Gamecocks QB Spencer Rattler
As Florida hits the road to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Gators are looking to avoid falling to 1-8 in contests away from The Swamp during Billy Napier's reign as head coach.
The matchup comes after besting head coach Shane Beamer and Co. in Gainesville a year ago, as the Gators' defense shut out the Gamecocks' offensive attack to produce a win in a convincing fashion.
However, as they make the trek to Columbia, S.C., the Gators will not only have to overcome their road struggles but also face improved redshirt senior quarterback Spencer Rattler, who has produced at a productive clip dating back to Week 12 of 2022.
Florida recognizes the task at hand heading into the contest.
"Spencer is a really great player. He's one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country," Napier said of the Phoenix, Ariz., native on Monday. "They have a good mix of skill that allows him to distribute the ball and they can be very dangerous on offense. He's a really good player, and that's certainly one of the challenges when you play South Carolina."
"There's no doubt, every week affecting the quarterback is important. But, when you play a guy like Spencer, it's even more important."
The Gators found success putting pressure on Rattler a season ago in Napier's statement victory of year one, triumphing over the Gamecocks 38-6 inside The Swamp.
Hitting home on Rattler three times while allowing just 237 yards of total offense, the then Patrick Toney-led defense produced its best showing of the campaign to render South Carolina's attack dormant. The lone score of the day for Beamer's squad came on special teams just before the end of the first half, as punter Kai Kroger found Dakereon Joyner for a 48-yard touchdown on the fake punt.
However, despite the vast success UF saw a year ago in this game, Napier refuted the idea that it could pull from last year's contest heading into Columbia, S.C.
"These are two completely different teams," he said on Monday.
Rattler's rapid progression as a signal caller for South Carolina is the most substantial distinction after his feast-or-famine nature as a passer a campaign ago.
Compiling 1,411 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions on 73% completion during the season, Rattler's turned in his most effective start to a campaign to date through five games in SCAR's pass-leaning offensive attack.
Having viewed the Oklahoma transfer's journey from the high school ranks from afar, Napier was complimentary of the fifth-year passer for his uptick performance.
It dates back to the contest after the Gamecocks' loss to the Gators a year. Rattler elevated the unit to two-straight victories over Tennessee and Clemson while posting eight touchdowns and two interceptions in those contests.
"Yeah, I think just overall, think about how he started his career at South Carolina, the things he went through at Oklahoma. The year I was at Arizona State, he was out there," Napier recalled. "You know, so I saw him, went to his high school, been around him. He's grown and matured. You can see the level of confidence that he's gotten from experience, he's had a lot of success.
"I think he's got a pretty good idea big picture-wise, what's going on. Man, I thought the back half of the season last year, he was outstanding and he's kept that momentum. Really, he's distributing the ball for them.
"He's the center of what they do. Whether it's the RPO game or the run game, or it's just all the pass concepts that you see."
Florida defensive back Jaydon Hill agreed with Napier's sentiment, addressing the importance of remaining sound defensively, as the unit did a season ago, to overcome the challenge the South Carolina quarterback can present.
"Spencer Rattler, we came out the same year," Hill said on Monday. "He was one of the top players in our class. I've always known he was a good quarterback. He's very electric. He can get things going for his guys, and we've just got to do a good job staying disciplined, doing our job as a defense."
On Florida's front, the Gators have a first-year transfer of their own in the form of Graham Mertz, who came out of high school the same year as Rattler, in place of last year's starter and eventual No. 4 NFL Draft selection to the Indianapolis Colts Anthony Richardson.
His arrival in Gainesville is a sign of the time in college football. He's one of four prominent names from the 2019 cycle to reinvent themselves with new logos on the side of their helmet.
Rattler, LSU's Jaydon Daniels and Oregon's Bo Nix have each seen a considerable uptick in production and efficiency at their second stop. Mertz, who's completing 80% of his passes with a 4.5:1 touchdown-interception ratio, can say the same after an inconsistent three years at Wisconsin.
His accuracy and ability to manage the game have aligned with the expectations the staff set for him when they targeted him out of the portal.
"Yeah, just the world we're living in. And thank the good Lord for it," Napier stated candidly on Wednesday. "We certainly have benefitted from it. As many headaches as there's been that come with it, I'm certainly happy for the players we've been able to add to our team.
"But I think it's going to continue to be that way, especially at quarterback. Because you've just got one starter and as time goes, there's just movement, because everybody wants to prove that they're the guy and that they can play. You know, there's some positive experiences that come from that. All those guys that you mentioned there, they've recreated themselves to some degree."
Aside from the quarterback position, the Gators have leaned on several transfers throughout the 2023 campaign. Most notably, Florida reshaped its interior defensive front in the offseason, adding Cam Jackson (Memphis) and Caleb Banks (Louisville) from the transfer market.
Their presence has considerably aided the unit's resurgence this season under new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong, ranked as the No. 16 defense in the country heading into the SEC East bout.
After finding success collapsing the pocket on the Gamecocks' talented passer a year ago — with nose tackle Desmond Watson serving as a prominent factor against the pass and the run — the Gators will look to its five-deep rotation on the inside made up of the aforementioned trio, Chris McClellan and Jamari Lyons to rattle Rattler with a substantiated pass rush from the inside.
The matchup inside Williams-Brice Stadium is scheduled to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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