2020 Position Preview: Quarterback

Spencer Rattler has more apparent natural gifts, but Tanner Mordecai has time (and Texas) on his side

Spencer Rattler and Tanner Mordecai :: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports/Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Every Friday going into (what was supposed to be) Big 12 Media Days on July 20-21, SI Sooners will break down one Oklahoma position group. Today: quarterback.

It’s possible that Lincoln Riley showed his cards in Atlanta.

At the end of a humiliating College Football Playoff loss to LSU, Riley pulled Jalen Hurts. It was 63-28. Hurts had just thrown deep to CeeDee Lamb, but incomplete. The Sooners were flagged for holding.

There was nothing left for Hurts to do.

So with almost four minutes left in the Peach Bowl, Riley sent in his backup quarterback — Spencer Rattler.

Spencer Rattler versus LSU / Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the Sooners’ first 13 games, Rattler was third-string behind Hurts and Tanner Mordecai. But with the season careening to a fiery crash, Riley instead rolled out his talented true freshman to finish things off.

Rattler zipped an 8-yard completion, then scrambled for an 8-yard gain. Then he threw two incomplete passes and that was it.

Riley insisted that his decision to call on Rattler was not a peek into the 2020 quarterback race. He even said if Rattler had picked up a first down, he was going to insert Mordecai. He said Rattler, a 5-star high school prodigy but an entirely unproven commodity in college, wasn’t being handed anything.

Tanner Mordecai versus Houston / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

“That’s not how we’ve ever done anything, with what stars the guy has or what the public thinks,” Riley said the following morning. “If Spencer would’ve been the best one when we had the competition over the last year, then he would’ve been the backup this year. It’s going to be a good battle with those two.”

Now, here sit the Sooners, seven months later, on the cusp of preseason training camp, having gone through a truncated spring practice period, having endured the challenges of an unprecedented pandemic, having participated in makeshift workouts all spring and summer — and still without any real clarity on the quarterback competition.

“I feel like they’re both ready to be the starting quarterback here,” Riley said in March.

Sure, both Mordecai and Rattler — or is it Rattler and Mordecai? — are capable of operating Riley’s prolific offense. They’re both capable of winning games. Heck, maybe they’re both capable of putting up huge numbers and winning another Big 12 title and even getting a trip to New York as the Sooners’ latest Heisman contender.

That’s why they came to Oklahoma.

But which one will it be?

Spencer Rattler / Tim Heitman-USATODAY

The public has already pretty much concluded that Rattler is the Sooners’ next great quarterback — and with good reason. His credentials (high school All-American, Elite 11 MVP, numerous Arizona state passing records at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix) and his prodigious arm strength jump out.

Rattler passed for a state record 11,083 yards in high school and 116 touchdowns — before it was discovered that a still-undisclosed violation of a school district code of conduct rule made him ineligible for a 30-day period at the end of the 2018 season.

Rattler clarified in the Netflix series “QB1” that it was not a suspension but acknowledged it “was a childish and dumb mistake.” His father Mike said it was “a private thing” and later said “he was not suspended,” and his mother Susan said, “he made a mistake and he’s moved on. But he did not hurt anyone. There’s no crime.”

Spencer Rattler in high school :: Sean Logan/azcentral sports-Phoenix

His dad added, “this is something he has to learn, is that he has that platform now, and with that platform comes responsibility.”

It all seems a million years ago now, but Mike Rattler’s comments ring true as Riley tries to find his next quarterback: as QB1 at Oklahoma, Rattler will shoulder the burdens of leadership, responsibility and a blindingly bright spotlight. Even Baker Mayfield found that out the hard way.

Mordecai, meanwhile, isn’t imbued with Rattler’s natural gifts.

He didn’t come to OU with a 5-star rating or All-American credentials. He didn’t set any state records at Midway High School in Waco. His arm strength isn’t supernatural, but it is very good.

Tanner Mordecai versus Kansas / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Mordecai does have an inherent advantage over Rattler: time. He’s a year older than Rattler, he’s been in Norman a year longer. He has a year’s more learning from Riley, a year’s more familiarity with Riley’s playbook.

Also, consider their roots. Mordecai was a standout QB in the talent-rich hotbed of Central Texas. Against some of the best schoolboys in the nation, Mordecai threw for 4,797 yards in his prep career with 51 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions and also ran for 1,511 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Tanner Mordecai / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

High school football in Arizona isn’t quite at that level.

It all adds up to what might be a legitimate quarterback competition for the first time in Riley’s tenure at Oklahoma.

To his credit, Riley held firm to the idea of competition in 2015, 2018 and 2019. But in all three cases, Baker Mayfield (over Trevor Knight), Kyler Murray (over Austin Kendall) and Jalen Hurts (over Mordecai) were clearly more talented than their counterpart — and they had previous college football experience.

Without the benefit of spring practice, and with the possibility of a disrupted preseason camp, it’s not as easy to discern a clear leader this year. And neither competitor has ever been a collegiate starter before.

“It’s different,” Riley said. “They’re not experienced, but they’re also, they’re experienced here. So it’s definitely been a different process than, certainly, compared to last spring.”

Riley said this year’s competition is more like Murray-Kendall in that neither has a ton of game experience under their belt but both have been in the OU system.

“There’s no doubt, it is nice to have guys that have been here,” Riley said. “It’s not all just brand new. This time last year, we were obviously force-feeding, especially Jalen at that point, trying to get him caught up as much as fast as possible. So it’s been a little different tone in there because of that. They’re guys that are ready.”

Both guys had to get creative during summer workouts. They were able to get time on task with some receivers, but they didn’t have the regular structure they’d have had with a normal summer in Norman.

So with both players needing to evolve their game, did one have a better summer than the other? That may never be known.

In any case, Riley’s confidence is not unfounded. He truly thinks Rattler and Mordecai — or is it Mordecai and Rattler? — are capable of being the Sooners’ next star quarterback.

“If we didn’t,” he said, “we would have brought somebody else in (via the transfer portal). We’ve obviously have had a history of that. But these guys are ready, they’re good enough, they’re talented enough. It’s their time.”

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