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Spencer Rattler: PFF Big 12 Player of the Year

After winning the conference, beating Sam Ehlinger and Brock Purdy head-to-head and breaking some of Baker Mayfield's records, Rattler was only honorable mention All-Big 12

John E. Hoover

Spencer Rattler vs. Oklahoma State
Spencer Rattler vs. Oklahoma State / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Even though he wasn’t first- or second-team All-Big 12, Pro Football Focus named Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler as its Big 12 Player of the Year.

“Rattler may not have made the first or second All-Big 12 teams, but he was by far the best quarterback and player overall in the conference,” PFF writes.

READ PFF'S FULL REPORT

Big 12 coaches last week named Iowa State junior Brock Purdy as their first-team All-Big 12 quarterback, and awarded Texas senior Sam Ehlinger as second-team.

Rattler was honorable mention.

Per PFF analytics, Rattler’s 92.5 grade ranks fifth-best in the entire FBS. Outside the pocket — “off-platform throws” — Rattler’s passing grade was 93.1, which edges out Baker Mayfield in 2016 for “the best we have recorded in the PFF College era.”

Spencer Rattler and his new trophy
Spencer Rattler and his new trophy :: Pool photo / Liz Parke

PFF also recorded a nation-leading seven Rattler deep throws that were dropped this season, which would have sent his grade even higher if they had been caught.

Rattler ranked second in the Big 12 in total offense (behind Ehlinger, 310 yards per game to 290) and ranked first in passing yards (ahead of West Virginia’s Jarret Doege, 278-270), first in passer efficiency (ahead of Ehlinger, 170.9-149.9) tied for first in passing touchdowns (with Ehlinger, 25 each) and second in points accounted for (behind Ehlinger, 202-182).

“Sure, there were some issues with his reads in the pocket, and we saw that on game-sealing interceptions against Kansas State and Iowa State,” PFF writes, “but don’t let a couple of throws lead you to believe he isn’t a special passer.”

The Sooners went 8-2 and won their sixth Big 12 Conference championship, as Rattler outperformed Purdy in the title game last week in Arlington, TX. Rattler was named Most Outstanding Player of the game.

Rattler also overcame a significant historical trend by beating Ehlinger head-to-head in Dallas during Oklahoma’s four-overtime victory in October. Since 1990, first-time starting quarterbacks in the Red River Rivalry were 2-14-1 against quarterbacks who had previously started in the game.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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