USC’s Marcus Satterfield, QB Spencer Rattler find common bond with goal of redemption
South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and incoming transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler have something in common — something they probably wish they didn’t have in common.
But it’s something Satterfield emphasized to Rattler while recruiting him nonetheless.
“When we started talking, I told him, ‘Everybody in the country thinks you stink as a quarterback, and everybody in the country thinks I stink,’” Satterfield said. “So let’s go out with the biggest chips on our shoulders that we possibly can get and let’s go attack this thing every single day.”
“And we kind of bonded.”
For the last couple of months, Gamecocks fans haven’t been shy about voicing their displeasure with Satterfield’s offense, taking to social media and message boards to criticize his play-calling — with some calling for his firing. Similarly, Oklahoma fans all but willed Rattler out of the starting quarterback role at Oklahoma, booing him and chanting “We want Caleb (Williams)!“ as early as September.
Rattler went from a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate to a backup quarterback and into the transfer portal, while rumors of a possible staff change have circled Satterfield since the season ended.
But, clearly, head coach Shane Beamer believes in both to help jumpstart the Gamecocks’ offense in Year 2. Part of the appeal for Rattler in transferring to USC is the fact that Satterfield runs an NFL-style offense.
“My selling point to him — and we had a couple of NFL quarterbacks that helped us and reached out — is just the importance of playing in a system where you huddle sometimes, and you have play calls and you have to call out a cadence. It’s just preparation for the next level,” Satterfield said.
“I think just the fact that we’re an NFL pro-style system, he’s gonna be able to come and get acclimated to that. And when his time comes, whether it be one year or two years, he’ll be ready to roll when it gets to that (NFL) rookie minicamp. I think that was huge. Very appealing for him.”
Satterfield spent a year with the Carolina Panthers as an assistant offensive line coach, learning under former LSU and then-Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Satterfield installed a similar, though not identical, offense in Columbia to mixed success. The Gamecocks ranked 13th in the Southeastern Conference in scoring offense, passing offense and total offense and 12th in rushing offense during the 2021 regular season, albeit with limited offensive weapons and a roster that was largely inherited from Will Muschamp’s regime.
Rattler, meanwhile, averaged 165 passing yards per game and threw for 11 touchdowns, five interceptions and 1,483 in nine games this season. Satterfield and the Gamecocks will hope to rekindle the form Rattler showed the year before, when he threw for 3,031 passing yards and 28 touchdowns to seven interceptions in 11 games.
“I’m excited to get him here; excited to go to work,” Satterfield said. “I think just the toughness of the mindset that he has right now is so much different than it was last year going into this, last season when he’s a Heisman Trophy candidate. I think he’s got a toughness about him that nobody’s seen.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 9:15 AM.
