 Rattler in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 2 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (2000-09-28)September 28, 2000 (age 25) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Pinnacle (Phoenix, Arizona) | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NFL draft | 2024: 5th round, 150th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2025 | |||||||||||||||
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Spencer Benson Rattler (born September 28, 2000) is an American professionalfootballquarterback for theNew Orleans Saints of theNational Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons ofcollege football for theOklahoma Sooners, receiving first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2020. In his final two seasons, Rattler was a member of theSouth Carolina Gamecocks. He was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of the2024 NFL draft.
Rattler attendedPinnacle High School inPhoenix, Arizona, for all of his four years of high school. He broke the Arizona high school passing record on his 18th birthday.[1] Rattler threw for 11,083 yards in his four years with 116 passing touchdowns and rushed for 1,040 yards with 14 rushing touchdowns.[2] Early in his senior season, Rattler was named MVP of theElite 11 at The Opening in Texas.[3]
In his final season atPinnacle, Rattler starred in aPeter Berg-directedNetflix sports documentary series calledQB1: Beyond the Lights. Rattler was later suspended for violating a district code of conduct, and was ineligible to play for the rest of the season due to cheating.[4] He initially said he had asprained MCL, but the school administration later advised him not to speak of the nature of the code of conduct violation.
By the end of his sophomore year in high school, Rattler had received 14 offers from NCAA D-I schools, includingAlabama,Notre Dame, andMiami. On June 19, 2017, he visitedOklahoma on an unofficial visit and committed to Oklahoma a week later. On December 19, 2018, Rattler signed hisletter of intent to play for coachLincoln Riley and the Sooners.[5] He was considered a 5 star quarterback by 247Sports[6] and Rivals.com,[7] and a 4 star by ESPN.[8] Rattler was also considered the consensus #1 quarterback and #1 overall prospect from Arizona in the 2019 recruiting class.[9]
On June 12, 2019, Rattler enrolled atOklahoma.[10][11] He saw action in the second half of theCollege Football Playoff Semi-Final Game againstLSU. Overall, Rattler appeared in a total of three games in the2019 season and was able toredshirt his freshman year of college.[12][13]
Going intohis redshirt freshman season, Rattler competed withTanner Mordecai for the starting job.[14] On September 1, Lincoln Riley announced that Rattler had won the starting quarterback job over Mordecai,[15] and Rattler made his starting debut on September 12 againstMissouri State.[16] On September 26, Rattler tied the Oklahoma record for most touchdown passes through two weeks with 8, set bySam Bradford in2008.[17] However, Rattler's starting job got off to a rocky start when he and his Sooners were upset byKansas State in his second start.[18] In his third start, Rattler threw for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns in the upset loss atIowa State. This loss snapped a streak of 24 straight home losses by Iowa State to Oklahoma.[19] Rattler and the Sooners made a comeback with the win againstTexas in theRed River Rivalry game. On November 7, Rattler injured his hip in a win againstKansas.[20] As the starting quarterback, he led the Oklahoma Sooners to a 6th consecutive Big 12 Championship,winning 27–21 over Iowa State.
Going into the2021 season, many rated Rattler as a favorite to win theHeisman Trophy.[21][22][23] However, during Oklahoma's match-up against Texas, Rattler was benched during the second quarter forCaleb Williams and would not play the rest of the season.[24] In November 2021, Rattler's personal coach, Mike Giovando, announced that he would be leaving Oklahoma.[25]Ole Miss,UCLA,Arizona State,Nebraska,Pitt,Auburn,Missouri, andOregon were among the schools that pushed for Rattler the hardest.[26]
In December 2021, Rattler announced he would be transferring to theUniversity of South Carolina to play for theSouth Carolina Gamecocks, under head coachShane Beamer.[27] Rattler and Beamer had a connection from their time together at Oklahoma.[28] South Carolina tight endsAustin Stogner andJaheim Bell have also been cited as influencing Rattler's decision.[29][30]
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As the starting quarterback for South Carolina in2022, Rattler led his team to an 8–5 record.[31] He threw 3,012 passing yards and scored eighteen touchdowns but also threw twelve interceptions.[32] His performance in the first ten games of the season was described as "underwhelming": he averaged 198 passing yards and threw more interceptions than touchdowns.[33] However, at the end of the regular season, he led the Gamecocks in two massive upsets. He threw 438 passing yards and six touchdowns in a win over No. 5Tennessee, breaking the program record for most touchdown passes in a game.[34] The following week, he played for 360 yards and two touchdowns in a win over No. 8Clemson,South Carolina's archrival, becoming the first South Carolina starting quarterback to beat Clemson sinceConnor Shaw in2013. With these wins, Rattler became the first South Carolina quarterback to ever win back-to-back games against top 10 teams.[35] South Carolina then reached its highest CFP ranking ever and its highest AP ranking since2014, at No. 19 and No. 20, respectively.
In the2022 Gator Bowl, Rattler and the Gamecocks lost to No. 21Notre Dame 45–38 in a competitive game, finishing the season 8–5 and ranked No. 23, the program's first finish in the AP Poll since 2013, when they finished No. 4.[36]
On January 10, 2023, Rattler announced he would return to South Carolina for 2023.[37]
Rattler led South Carolina to a 5–7 record in2023, throwing a career-high 3,186 yards and 275 completions while doing so.[38][39] His 2023 season was described as "one of the best quarterback seasons in school history" and Rattler was described as being "among the country’s best signal-callers".[40]
Rattler declared for the2024 NFL draft following the season, finishing fifth in career passing yards and first in career completion percentage at South Carolina.[41][42] He played in the2024 Senior Bowl and was named its MVP.[43]
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2019 | Oklahoma | 3 | 0 | — | 7 | 11 | 63.6 | 81 | 1 | 0 | 155.5 | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 0 |
| 2020 | Oklahoma | 11 | 11 | 9–2 | 214 | 317 | 67.5 | 3,031 | 28 | 7 | 172.6 | 81 | 160 | 2.0 | 6 |
| 2021 | Oklahoma | 9 | 6 | 6–0 | 140 | 187 | 74.9 | 1,483 | 11 | 5 | 155.5 | 43 | 77 | 1.8 | 3 |
| 2022 | South Carolina | 13 | 13 | 8–5 | 264 | 399 | 66.2 | 3,026 | 18 | 12 | 138.7 | 73 | 46 | 0.6 | 3 |
| 2023 | South Carolina | 12 | 12 | 5–7 | 275 | 399 | 68.9 | 3,186 | 19 | 8 | 147.7 | 97 | 104 | 1.1 | 4 |
| Career | 48 | 42 | 28–14 | 900 | 1,313 | 68.5 | 10,807 | 77 | 32 | 152.2 | 297 | 410 | 1.4 | 16 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft0+1⁄4 in (1.84 m) | 211 lb (96 kg) | 31 in (0.79 m) | 9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | 4.95 s | 1.63 s | 2.83 s | 4.37 s | 7.21 s | 32.0 in (0.81 m) | 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[44][45] | ||||||||||||
Rattler was selected by theNew Orleans Saints in the fifth round with the 150th overall pick in the2024 NFL draft.[46] There were 137 players selected between Rattler and the previous quarterback drafted,Bo Nix, setting a record for the common draft era.[47]
In the 2024 preseason, Rattler completed 20 of 38 pass attempts for 202 yards and a passing touchdown, as well as an 8 yard rushing touchdown.[48]
After starting quarterbackDerek Carr suffered an injury in Week 5, Spencer Rattler became the Saints' starting quarterback for Week 6 against theTampa Bay Buccaneers, completing 22 of 40 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions as the Saints lost 51–27.[49][50] In his second start, a 33–10 loss to theDenver Broncos, Rattler completed 25 of 35 passes for 172 yards, rushed for 34 yards, and was sacked six times. He fumbled twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown, before leaving the game due to a hip injury late in the fourth quarter.[51] In Week 15 against the Washington Commanders, Rattler replaced starting quarterbackJake Haener in the 2nd half. Rattler completed 10 of 21 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown toFoster Moreau with no time left on the clock, which brought the score within a point. However the Saints failed on the subsequent 2 point conversion attempt, thus losing 19–20. Rattler finished his rookie season playing in seven games. He finished with 1,317 passing yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also set a franchise record for most passing yards by a rookie quarterback.[52]
Following a competition between Haener and rookieTyler Shough, Rattler was named the Saints starting quarterback for the 2025 season by first-year head coachKellen Moore.[53] In Week 2 against theSan Francisco 49ers, Rattler threw for 207 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-26 loss.[54] Following an 0-4 start, Rattler threw for 225 yards and a touchdown in his first ever victory against theNew York Giants in Week 5.[55] However, the Saints would drop their next three games and fell to 1–7, leading to Rattler being benched in favor of Shough.[56]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/G | Lng | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Sck | SckY | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2024 | NO | 7 | 6 | 0–6 | 130 | 228 | 57.0 | 1,317 | 5.8 | 188.1 | 41 | 4 | 5 | 70.4 | 18 | 146 | 8.1 | 28 | 0 | 22 | 136 | 5 | 3 |
| 2025 | NO | 8 | 8 | 1–7 | 174 | 256 | 68.0 | 1,586 | 6.2 | 198.3 | 87 | 8 | 5 | 86.8 | 31 | 167 | 5.4 | 15 | 0 | 18 | 104 | 4 | 1 |
| Career | 15 | 14 | 1–13 | 304 | 484 | 62.8 | 2,904 | 6.0 | 193.5 | 87 | 12 | 10 | 79.1 | 49 | 313 | 6.4 | 28 | 0 | 40 | 240 | 9 | 4 | |
