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- Prior to committing to South Carolina, Spencer Rattler had interest from another SEC program.
- However, that school had two quarterbacks already on the roster.
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Spencer Rattler’s college football journey has not quite gone as he might have planned. The 21-year-old quarterback is all situated at South Carolina, but it was never supposed to be that way and almost wasn’t.
Rattler, a five-star prospect out of high school, was the No. 1 quarterback in his class. He committed to Oklahoma and may have done so with the impression that he would be the starter.
Instead, the Sooners added Jalen Hurts as a grad transfer and Rattler redshirted in his first year on campus. He earned the starting job as a sophomore but COVID-19 caused the season to be shorter than normal and unusual in terms of the day-to-day experience.
After playing well as a redshirt freshman in 2020, Rattler was the incumbent starter for 2021 and was a Heisman Trophy candidate. However, after some early-season struggles, he was benched in favor of Caleb Williams and never got the chance to return to the QB1 role.
In turn, at the end of the season, Rattler entered the transfer portal.
According to a new report, a Pac-12 school close to home was his preferred destination, but that program ultimately chose to pass. Among the other suitors, UCLA and Nebraska were believed to be in the mix.
In addition, per Rattler’s uncle Scott Konkel, an SEC team that is not South Carolina was also knocking on the door. He says that Auburn wanted Rattler.
Even before Bo Nix chose to enter the portal and left for Oregon, Konkel says that the Tigers were in contact with Rattler and his camp. At the time, which would have been before December 12th, the Tigers and head coach Bryan Harsin had Nix and T.J. Finley on the roster.
He was either not comfortable with his quarterback room, or wanted to explore his options at the very least. Konkel says that Auburn tried to recruit Rattler to play in Alabama, but Harsin and his staff was obviously unsuccessful.