College Football

Who Is Spencer Rattler?

Published Sep. 1, 2020 7:21 p.m. ET

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Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley announced Tuesday that redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler will be the Sooners' starting QB for the fall football season. 

The decision comes fewer than two weeks before the start of the season, the timeline that Riley has followed since arriving at OU five years ago.

Rattler entered preseason camp on July 31 as the favorite to replace now-Eagles backup QB Jalen Hurts.

He won the job not only with his play, but after his challenger, redshirt sophomore Tanner Mordecai, suffered an undisclosed injury during practice on Aug. 3.

Rattler was not your ordinary recruit before arriving in Norman, Oklahoma.

Coming out of high school, he was a 5-star prospect, ranked as the top QB and No. 11 player overall in the 2019 recruiting class.

In his four years at Pinnacle High School, Rattler set the Arizona state high school record for passing yards with 11,083. He threw for 116 touchdowns and added 1,040 yards on the ground with 14 rushing TDs.

And in his senior season, Rattler starred in the Netflix sports documentary series QB1: Beyond the Lights. The show followed three of America’s up-and-coming football stars through their finals season of high school football.

Last season at OU, he saw time in only three games, allowing him to preserve his redshirt status.

In those games, Rattler went 7-for-11 for 81 yards and 1 TD, while rushing for 23 yards on 3 carries. He played in one series in the second half of the College Football Playoff semifinal against LSU at the Peach Bowl.

Rattler becomes Oklahoma's fourth starting quarterback in the past four seasons, following Hurts in 2019, Kyler Murray in 2018 and Baker Mayfield in 2017, all of whom were transfers.

Riley has been called the QB whisperer, as Mayfield, Murray and Hurts all led the Sooners to College Football Playoff appearances and had spectacular individual seasons.

Riley’s quarterbacks over the last three seasons have all received a grade of at least 91.8 or higher, according to Pro Football Focus.

Both Mayfield and Murray posted seasons with a 94.6 grade, and Hurts received a 91.8 grade last year.

In addition, both Mayfield and Murray won the Heisman Trophy in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and both were selected No. 1 overall in their respective NFL Drafts.

Hurts finished as runner-up to former-LSU QB Joe Burrow for the Heisman in 2019 and went in the second-round of the 2020 draft.

Despite the success of his QBs – collegiately and professionally – Riley believes Rattler's personality is unlike the QBs that came before him, pointing to a different level of swagger that Rattler possesses.

Rattler, Riley and No. 6 Oklahoma opens their season at home against Missouri State on Sept. 12.

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