For years, University of South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer watched quarterback Spencer Rattler play in the biggest of moments and face the most adversity. Whether starting 1-2 for Oklahoma with losses to Kansas St. and Iowa St. in 2020 or getting pulled in the first half against rival Texas two consecutive years, Rattler went through it all during his collegiate career. And as Beamer recounts, Rattler's responses all had similar characteristics.
“Calm and confident,” Beamer recently told NFL.com. “The bigger the game, the more confidence and swagger he has. He truly feels like he's going to dominate every time he goes out there.”
Beamer was an assistant at OU while Rattler was the starter there before he got the South Carolina head coaching job for the 2021 season and eventually recruited Rattler to the Gamecocks. Beamer is as good an authority on Rattler as there is. Beamer will be watching with pride as Rattler makes his first NFL start on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while Derek Carr recovers from an oblique injury that is expected to sideline him for at least the next two games.
“Spencer is everything you'd want a quarterback to be,” Beamer said.
Rattler's experiences at Oklahoma and South Carolina help explain that. After starting 1-2 in 2020, Rattler committed two early turnovers and was pulled in the first half of the team's next game against the Longhorns. However, he returned after three series and led Oklahoma to a 53-45 win over Texas that took four overtimes to settle. Rattler's Sooners then ran off another seven straight wins, including a Cotton Bowl victory over Florida.
“Getting benched never fazed him,” Beamer said. “That told me everything you need to know about Spencer. And he never lost another game at Oklahoma.”
Rattler, who was benched at OU for eventual No. 1 pick Caleb Williams -- coincidentally during the next year's iteration of the Red River rivalry -- went on to pull off more heroics at South Carolina. In the words of Beamer, “He came here and did a lot of things in his first season as a starter that had never been done before.” That includes becoming the first Gamecocks QB to beat Texas A&M, and the first to win back-to-back games against top-10 opponents.
That's what the Saints are hoping for today and this upcoming Thursday night when New Orleans hosts the Broncos in Week 7. To the public, it was a mild surprise when head coach Dennis Allen made this decision, considering Jake Haener began the season as the backup QB to Carr. Yet, Rattler impressed in the spring, leaving New Orleans thinking it'd gotten a steal in the fifth round. It was more of the same in the preseason for Rattler, who boasts significant upside. Allen described this past week of practice as a positive one, and Rattler could give the offense an added dimension with his running ability.
“He has a no-flinch mentality,” Allen said. “That's what we saw a lot of in training camp as he grew each week and ultimately some of the reps we saw in preseason reflected that.”
Beamer saw plenty of that at South Carolina, noting two more examples. In 2022, his team lost, 38-6, to Florida, a particularly brutal game. All Rattler did was throw six TDs for a stunning upset of No. 5 Tennessee the following week.
“Very few QBs can flush a bad week from the week before and truly go into the next week thinking and believing they're going to throw for six TDs and his team will score 63 points,” Beamer said. “He played out of his mind.”
Against rival Clemson the next week, Rattler threw an early pick-six to Tigers star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., now with the Eagles. “He jogs off and winks at me,” Beamer said, laughing. “Like, ‘My bad.’ He knew he made a mistake. He came back and made some big-time throws, leading us to victory.”
Rattler's Fearless Mentality on Display
The Saints didn't waste much time lingering over the decision to start rookie Spencer Rattler against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr injured his oblique on Monday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak informed Rattler on Tuesday morning that he would be starting this Sunday against the Bucs.
The Saints elected to go with the rookie fifth-round pick over second-year player Jake Haener, who has taken all the snaps behind Carr in games this year. Rattler has been inactive as the emergency third quarterback. Rattler said he was excited to find out the team had confidence in his ability to start while Carr is out. The Saints also host the Denver Broncos on a short week on Thursday.
“I love our group. I have so many talented dudes I can lean on. Don't have to do too much, I just facilitate the ball to them,” Rattler said.
Rattler said he has worked his whole life for this opportunity, but was sad it came at the expense of a teammate.
“It sucks that Derek got hurt, our leader of our team, one of the best dudes in the building,” Rattler said. “But I have a job to do, got to go out and execute at a high level.”
Rattler said that he's feeling confident about the game plan against the Buccaneers this week, even though he admitted he'll be trying to shake off the pregame nerves before his first NFL start.
“Something I love about Klint and our offensive staff is we tailor it to who's playing,” Rattler said. “I like that a lot, feel confident about it and we've had a great week so far.”
Saints coach Dennis Allen and Kubiak both praised Rattler's demeanor this week leading up to the game. “I think Spencer's always kind of had a no-flinch mentality,” Allen said. “... I think he along with the rest of the team, coaches included, we're all excited about seeing what he can do.”
Kubiak said Rattler has “got some swag.” “He's got a natural easiness about him, he's comfortable in his own skin,” Kubiak said.
Rattler's Preparation and Mentorship
Rattler said he has had a number of friends and family reach out this week after hearing the news. Among them was former Saints quarterback Archie Manning, who has reached out regularly since Rattler went to the Manning Passing Academy in 2022. Rattler said Carr has also been a source of advice this week.
“He said, ‘Hey, look, anything you need, I'm here,’” Rattler said. “And then that's the most solid dude I've been around, you know what I mean? Just, people person, great character, that speaks volumes of who he is. So, I mean, just giving you a little information about what to expect, you know, ‘Be nice and calm, cool, and just go cut it loose.’ Derek's been awesome and, couldn't ask for a better leader in that room.”
Is Rattler Ready for Prime Time?
The Saints went with Jake Haener as their No. 2 quarterback during the first five games of the 2024 season, but they made a different choice when they learned Derek Carr would not be able to play against the Buccaneers this week. Fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler has been tabbed as the starter for Sunday’s game and the rookie isn’t showing any nerves as he heads into his first NFL appearance. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said that Rattler has “a natural easiness about him, he’s comfortable in his own skin” while discussing what led the team to tab Rattler as the guy to take the field against Tampa. Kubiak also said that Rattler has “swag” and the quarterback’s take on his approach suggests that’s an apt description.
“You’ve got to be fearless as a quarterback,” Rattler said, via the team’s website. “I think that’s the No. 1 key you’ve got to have.”
It’s a good bet that the Buccaneers defense isn’t feeling a lot of fear about squaring off with an untested quarterback and the side that better backs up their confidence should come away with a win on Sunday.
