Spencer Rattler Gives Wise Advice to His 17-Year-Old Self

The former five-star recruit and current NFL Draft hopeful knows exactly what he'd say to the teenage version of himself.

Luke Easterling | Jan 30, 2024

Spencer Rattler Gives Wise Advice to His 17-Year-Old Self /

Football fans have had a front-row seat to Spencer Rattler's quarterback journey since his teenage years.

From a Netflix documentary, to being a five-star high school recruit, to being benched at Oklahoma in favor of Caleb Williams, to transferring to South Carolina, Rattler's road winding gridiron road is making another highly publicized stop in Mobile, Alabama this week at the Senior Bowl.

After arriving in Mobile for this week's all-star showcase in advance of the 2024 NFL Draft, Rattler was asked by NFL Network what advice he would give to his 17-year-old self, and the former five-star recruit didn't hesitate:

Confidence can be a double-edged sword for top-level athletes, especially for young quarterbacks who are crowned "the next big thing" at an early age. The adversity that Rattler has faced since those Netflix days have clearly given him a more mature perspective, and a measure of humility as he prepares to make the jump to the next level this time around.

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LUKE EASTERLING

Luke Easterling (he/him) has been covering college football and the NFL for more than two decades, with a particular focus on the nexus of both, the NFL Draft. Writing for some of the largest and most recognizable brands in sports media, Luke's experience and expertise in evaluating potential NFL prospects and evaluating team needs/fits has earned the appreciation of his readers, and the respect of his peers. Luke cut his sports journalism teeth at The Tampa Tribune before spending two years at Bleacher Report as a featured columnist covering the NFL Draft and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luke then spent nearly seven years at USA TODAY Sports Media Group as editor of Draft Wire and Bucs Wire, building both into authoritative destination sites for their respective audiences. Now at The Arena Group, Luke covers the NFL and college football for Athlon Sports, and runs Sports Illustrated's FanNation site for the NFL Draft. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Luke has been a featured guest on ESPN Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Fox Sports Radio, SiriusXM and more. Based in Tampa, Florida (the true home of the Cuban sandwich), Luke plays the drums, loves 2000s pop-punk, watches way too many British murder mystery shows, and channels the energy of his deep-south Grammy and his full-Italian Nana in the kitchen. Twitter: @lukeeasterling Email: luke.easterling@si.com