GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 12: Spencer Rattler #7 of the South Carolina Gamecocks heads to the locker room before the start of a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Former NFL Scout Loves Spencer Rattler

May 3, 2023 | Daniel Kelly | Articles

Reading Time: 3 minutes

South Carolina’s quarterback (QB) Spencer Rattler is ready to step into his own in 2023.

That’s the game film trajectory his career is on.

I don’t love many, but I do love Rattler.

Always have since the first moment I saw him.

I’ll never forget watching the 1993 Washington Redskins season highlights growing up. On this tape, former 49ers’ linebacker Matt Millen said he knew after taking one look at Redskins’ QB Mark Rypien’s eyes before the game, they had the game won.

49ers 20. Redskins 13.

The eyes are the windows to the soul

From the first time I evaluated Spencer Rattler on 2020 game film, his eyes have struck me. Intensity. Focus. Determination. Confidence. Ice. As an evaluator I love what I see in Spencer Rattler’s eyes. As Matt Millen said, “You can always read a quarterback by his eyes.” pic.twitter.com/5Mmlx0A2Zz
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) May 2, 2023

There are certain things that strike me about prospects when I watch game film.

With Rattler, it’s his eyes.

His eyes told me everything I needed to know. All the game film did was confirm it.

Everything a team would want in a franchise QB is in his eyes.

From there, it’s just a matter of creating the right environment to bring it out of him, which is what happened this past season.

It happened against the No. 5, No. 8, and No. 13 ranked teams down the stretch.

He showed them all what I knew was there.

It’s all about finding the right environment

Spencer Rattler is who I thought he was from the first time I evaluated him on 2020 game film. The 6 TD game in 2022 against Tennessee was no surprise to me ▶️https://t.co/VDJqFNYb2z pic.twitter.com/iQPEiATGlm
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) May 2, 2023

All I could do is smile watching Rattler against No.5 ranked Tennessee.

I smiled because I was watching Rattler take back what was taken from him at Oklahoma.

After a rocky beginning at South Carolina, Rattler settled down and found himself again.

I’ll freely admit, there were rough spots in some of Rattler’s 2022 game film early on. First Round Mock doesn’t write fairy tales, we write what’s on game film.

All he needed was somebody to believe in him after his former coach, Lincoln Riley quit believing in him. He found it at South Carolina, and specifically, he found it in that game against Tennessee.

From here on, it’s just a matter of consistency.

Brett Favre 2.0

Nov 29, 2007 – Irving, Texas, USA – The Green Bay Packers BRETT FAVRE on the bench just before being pulled from the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys won 37-27 to go 11-1. (Photo by Albert Dickson/Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)

I’ve always said if I needed a QB for one game that I had to win, I would take Brett Favre, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

You could kick Favre until he bled.

Then he came back out and sling into the end zone for six.

Rattler really reminds me of him.

Favre was a gunslinger who threw 508 touchdowns and 336 interceptions over his 20 year NFL career.

He put everything he had into it.

Favre won Super Bowl XXXI with the Packers.

Rattler is a fierce competitor, like Favre was.

I can live with the rest of it.

#7 Spencer Rattler 6-foot-1, 215 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Spring 2023 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 5.9% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of May 3, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Previous evaluations:

EARLY ON OKLAHOMA QB SPENCER RATTLER LOOKS LIKE A FIRST ROUND FRANCHISE NFL QB (2021)

Spencer Rattler Is The Next Patrick Mahomes (2022)

2022 game film evaluated: Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Clemson, and Tennessee (click to review film watched to form this evaluation)

2022 stats: 264/399, 3026 yards (66.2%), 18 TD, 12 INT, 31 sacks, 72-long

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Tenacious high energy run-and-gun dual-threat with a strong will to win. Leads with urgent tempo. Good ball-handling skills. Excellent pocket mobility. Creates and extends. Passer first. Runner second. Active in the pocket. Alert. Head is on a swivel. Tends to go through his progressions. High football IQ. Quick decisions and reactions. Sees field well. Strong arm to fit throws into tight windows. Can make all the throws at short, intermediate, and deep route levels, but inconsistent placement intermediate and deep. Tends to put too much pressure on himself and tries doing too much and that’s when mistakes happen. Will take chances. Defenders touched too many passes. Capable of big-league throws. Takes off running and picks up solid chunks of yardage. Knows how to slide. Showed improvements in areas of weakness as the season progressed.

What to watch for during the 2023 college football season:

1. Does he continue to build on what he showed late 2022?

2. Does he look comfortable in the pocket?

3. Downfield placement at the intermediate to deep route levels?

4. Touchdown-to-interception ratio?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated Lions, Jets, and 49ers, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.