Spencer Rattler had a good excuse for not making it to Beaverton, Ore. this week when several of his New Orleans Saints teammates gathered for a group workout — he was already committed to running his third annual youth football camp on the other side of the country in Columbia, S.C. Rattler is still grateful for the warm reception the South Carolina community gave him after transferring from Oklahoma, and he sees this as an opportunity to give back to those who once supported him.
“I think it’s important, you know they gave so much to me,” Rattler said, via ABC Columbia’s Chaz R. Frazier. “They showed me so much love and I had such a great time here. Obviously I’m alumni here, graduated from here. I want to come back here each year and give back to the kids. That’s what it’s about.”
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Dozens of young campers joined Rattler on campus at the Strom Thurmond Sports Fields, where they got the chance to learn from an NFL quarterback and practice their own skills. The chance to share his knowledge and reminiscence with fans in South Carolina was something Rattler clearly valued.
He continued: “All these Gamecock fans come up to me saying, ‘Oh, man, I remember at the Tennessee game’ and the Clemson game and a bunch of different games when I was here. So those memories, and just with all the guys on the team, we built something special. You see the program’s getting better and better each year, so it’s good to see.”
Rattler is proud of his former teammates’ success; he helped lay the groundwork for last year’s 9-4 season, their highest win total since 2017. Now he’s trying to do the same thing in New Orleans. If Rattler can outplay rookie draft pick Tyler Shough for the starting job, and hold onto it, maybe he’ll end up sharing good memories with fans in New Orleans someday, too.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints QB Spencer Rattler talks South Carolina football, youth camp