Spencer Rattler Took Control of His Narrative

Quarterback Spencer Rattler changed the thoughts around his play during his first season with South Carolina, a rarity in today's college football world.

Over the past four months, South Carolina's football program has experienced significant progress, resulting in them being one of the most respected teams in the country and taking down two top-10 teams in back-to-back weeks to close out the regular season.

One of the leading causes of South Carolina's emergence as an on-the-rise team in 2022 has been quarterback Spencer Rattler settling into his role as an impressive collegiate quarterback. 

After transferring from Oklahoma, many anticipated Rattler, the former five-star, would come in and have an immediate on-field impact. However, that was not necessarily the case. 

In his first five games, Rattler threw seven interceptions and led the Gamecocks to an unsavory 3-2 record through that stretch. It wasn't until Carolina's eighth game that Rattler had more passing touchdowns than interceptions, leaving many to think the Rattler experiment wouldn't work out.

The inconsistent play from Rattler continued until the Vanderbilt game when it seemed he found his stride. That impressive play continued through the rest of the season, which helped lead the Gamecocks to the aforementioned marquee wins against Tennessee and Clemson, setting themselves up with an interesting opportunity to face Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. 

Despite the loss to the Fighting Irish, Rattler proved his elite play in the second half of the season was not a fluke and rather a product of his improvement as a player.

Rattler showed poise and control while in the pocket, especially under pressure, which he was not displaying at the beginning of the year. He made big throws down the field and even displayed a high IQ, playing smart football throughout the game. His strong play allowed the Gamecocks to record only 65 rushing yards, 27 of those coming from Rattler himself, and still post 24 offensive points against one of the best defenses in the country.

Rattler's future with the team is still being determined, even with the draft decision day rapidly approaching. Whether he stays or goes, Rattler highlighted his excellent second half of the season with a solid game against Notre Dame.

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