New quarterback, same expectations. Why Sooners remain explosive with Spencer Rattler
Spencer Rattler has a long way to go before he can measure up to Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts, but few will be surprised if he turns out to be Oklahoma’s next great quarterback.
He already has a fan in Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman.
“We have limited film, but just the fact that he’s working under Lincoln Riley shows that he’s going to be a great player,” Klieman said earlier this week. “Lincoln is as good as there is in coaching quarterbacks, so I think he has tremendous arm strength. He does a great job of reading defenses, looking people off and knowing where he’s going with the football. He’s an extremely good athlete. They didn’t run him or need to run him much against Missouri State, but I know from doing some research that he can beat you with his feet as well as his arm. I know he’s a young player, but I’ve been so impressed with his skill set.”
Rattler has only played in one game for the Sooners — a 48-0 home victory over Missouri State — but that was enough for more observers than Klieman to appreciate his potential.
He brings a new swagger to Oklahoma’s huddle. A former five-star recruit from the Phoenix area, Rattler doesn’t run as powerfully as Hurts did a year ago. But he is fast enough to make plays with his feet, and his arm strength is off the charts. Much like Mayfield and Murray, he is an exceptional passer.
Some think the Sooners will be more explosive on offense this season for that reason.
Riley lauds his throwing mechanics, saying Rattler has passing skills you simply can’t teach.
“He’s a good athlete, a different kind of athlete,” Riley said. “We’ve always looked to recruit guys that we felt like gave us some type of threat in the run game.”
Rattler showed off his arm against Missouri State by completing 14 of 17 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns. He was sharp on his short and intermediate throws while also showing accuracy on deep balls. Two of his throws went for 50-plus yards.
The Sooners will pose quite a challenge for the Wildcats’ defensive secondary, which is expected to be short-handed following Game 1 injuries to starting safeties Wayne Jones and Jahron McPherson.
“We just have to remain focused and stay calm,” K-State defensive back Will Jones said. “We know they are a good team, but as long as we do what our coaches tell us to do, they put us in a position to be successful and we’ll be fine.”
In the past three years, two of Oklahoma’s three starting quarterbacks (Mayfield and Murray) went on to win the Heisman Trophy and the third (Hurts) was a Heisman finalist.
Expectations are already high for what Rattler can accomplish as he follows that group.
“The quarterback is always great,” K-State linebacker Justin Hughes said. “Lincoln Riley has done a great job of recruiting those guys. They’re a solid team ... We just have to go out there and execute our assignments and look at the details of what they want to execute schematically. We have to go out there and execute our scheme to the best way possible we can.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "New quarterback, same expectations. Why Sooners remain explosive with Spencer Rattler."