South Carolina football fans have known for a long time that Spencer Rattler is special. Now, word is starting to spread about the Gamecock gunslinger.
After narratives developed around Rattler due to a Netflix special when he was a junior in high school, he then was written off by many when Caleb Williams took over the starting quarterback job at Oklahoma.
Rattler spent the next two years in the South Carolina football program rehabbing his image and growing as a person and as a player. By the time he finished playing in garnet and black, Spencer Rattler had become one of the greatest quarterbacks and best leaders ever to come through Columbia.
Since dominating at the Senior Bowl (earning both the practice week MVP and the game MVP), Rattler has jumped back onto the national radar. However, those around the NFL always have had an eye on the Arizona native.
Recently, an anonymous NFL executive told SportsIllustrated's Albert Breer that he had a hot take on the Gamecock QB. According to the executive (who had spent "a long time" in the league), "Spencer Rattler is better than Bo Nix and Penix. And I know other people who feel the same way."
Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels are the consensus top-3 in the draft, but there had been some disagreement over the order of the next grouping of JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr., Michael Pratt, and Rattler. Many have just slotted Rattler toward the back end of that group, but according to Breer's report, that might not be consensus around the NFL.
Breer's reporting echoes the other recent opinions that have gone public regarding Rattler. Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy, former NFL scout Daniel Kelly, and several others have been singing #7's praises this offseason, and the talented quarterback should be picked at some point in the top-3 rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Rattler and Carolina teammate Xavier Legette both are being mocked most frequently in the 2nd round and 3rd round of the draft. Marcellas Dial, Trey Knox, and Nick Gargiulo will join Rattler and Legette as draft hopefuls who will be competing this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.