Spencer Rattler’s South Carolina debut wasn’t perfect, but it was a start
Spencer Rattler stood in the tunnel at Williams-Brice Stadium, his back turned toward the field, facing the center of a huddle.
Donning a different shade of red from the crimson he wore at Oklahoma the past three seasons, he stepped into the center of the circle and called for the usual team breakdown that such scenes around here tend to include.
“Gamecocks on three!” he said. “One, two, three ...”
“Gamecocks!” the group echoed before heading to the field for pregame warmups.
For the first time since his stunning commitment in December, Rattler suited up in a South Carolina uniform against a team that wasn’t his own, helping USC down a stubborn Georgia State squad 35-14.
The ex-OU signal-callers’ night ebbed and flowed with the usual anomalies of a Week 1 contest. There was some wizardry. There was some head-scratching.
All in all, it amounted to a weird and wild Gamecocks win.
“We have strides (to make), but we’re gonna be better,” Rattler said of the offense. “But a win is a win. Never gonna be sad to win.”
Rattler finished the night a modest 23 of 37 for 226 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His statline might indicate a middle-of-the-road performance.
That’s not exactly fair.
The one-time Heisman Trophy favorite flashed the “wow” factor that made him the most discernible name in college football entering last season. He bounced in and around the pocket with flair. His passes had zip the Gamecocks coaching staff could only dream of during last year’s nightmarish four-quarterback carousel.
Take the 39-yard connection he made with receiver Jalen Brooks as proof of concept.
Rattler took a shotgun snap, dropping two steps back. With the pocket breaking down around him, he bounced to his right, running almost parallel to the Gamecocks’ 25-yard line. Spying a sliver of an opening, he flung a pass down the Georgia State sideline. The ball held up jusssst enough for Brooks to leap under it for a diving 39-yard catch — the longest play South Carolina connected on all night.
That — the instincts, the flashy arm strength, the ability to extend plays — was what Rattler was brought in for. That, and stability.
“He really made some nice throws tonight when they brought some pressure,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “He was able to get out of the pocket and make some plays with his feet and get the ball downfield. Give credit to him.”
That’s not to say Rattler was without his flaws on Saturday.
He forced one ball down the sideline to Josh Vann into double coverage that was nearly picked off. He later pushed another pass into a tighter window than necessary looking for Xavier Legette on a fourth-quarter, third-down attempt.
His second interception, too, was egregious. Rattler said as much postgame, noting he should’ve taken off and ran rather than try to squeeze a deeper pass into a tight window. Instead, he forced it, watching it ultimately land in Georgia State cornerback Quavian White’s hands.
“I could have just ran it,” Rattler conceded. “There was so much momentum. I was just pressing, pressing, pressing. Thought I could have made (the play) or just ran for the first down. That’s the throw I want back the most.”
Rattler has become increasingly comfortable in and around Columbia.
He’s no stranger to the spotlight. Playing quarterback at Oklahoma brings that. As does receiving one’s first college scholarship offer before playing a down of high school football, or starring on a Netflix show.
Yet, there was an ease about Rattler in his postgame press conference. He diagnosed the offensive issues South Carolina mitigated en route to a 306-yard outing. He explained the tempo the Gamecocks started with and how that factored into the game plan. He, too, bore the brunt of the blame for his miscues.
Rattler’s debut at South Carolina began in earnest huddled in the tunnel at 7:07 p.m. He left the press conference two minutes after midnight. Those almost five hours in between had their moments of awe-inspiring ability and questionable playmaking.
It may have lacked some of the big-play pizzazz the 78,297 garnet and black-clad hopeful yearned for, but Rattler’s first game was a start.
Gamecocks fans ought to sleep easy. Their team is 1-0 and they certainly have themselves a quarterback — even if it wasn’t always pretty.
This story was originally published September 4, 2022 at 7:50 AM.
