new gold jerseys<\/a> that the team will break out for Sunday’s opener. But none of it will matter if Rattler can’t lead the Saints into those freshly painted gold end zones. He threw four touchdowns and five interceptions during a rookie season that included a social media movement called #TheAgenda, a push by avid Rattler fans who wanted to see him play. Much of that buzz has died down now. But the guy wearing both the No. 2 jersey and the chip on his shoulder is eager to prove his fans that they were right.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cYeah, you could say I have a chip on my shoulder,\u201d Rattler said. \u201cOur whole team has a chip, which is awesome. A lot of people are sleeping on us, and that\u2019s fine. We want to just do what we can do and control what we can and go out there and prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rattler has had to prove himself for a few years now. He made it all look so easy early on, becoming a legend in his hometown of Phoenix as one of the top recruits in the country by his senior year of high school.<\/p>\n
Mike Giovando, who became Rattler\u2019s quarterback when he was 10 or 11 years old, isn\u2019t surprised at his pupil\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already had the moxie back then,\u201d Giovando said. \u201cI told him in seventh or eighth grade that I thought he could be an NFL quarterback, and he spoke it into existence for sure.”<\/p>\n
A path set straight<\/p>\n
Prior to his senior year of high school, Rattler was named MVP of The Elite 11, a quarterback competition with some of the best QBs in the country. He was so good that Netflix followed him around and featured him in a documentary called \u201cQB1: Beyond the Lights.\u201d His brashness in the documentary rubbed some people the wrong way; for example, an episode when he predicted \u201ctwo Heismans” for himself.<\/p>\n
At Pinnacle High School, he set the Arizona passing yards record on his 18th birthday. That\u2019s also around the time he got his first tattoo on his left chest. It\u2019s a bible verse (Proverbs 3:5-6) that he ended up having to lean on for some of the tough times ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust in the Lord with all your heart. Don\u2019t lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge him and he\u2019ll set your path straight.\u201d<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s how I live,” Rattler said. “I understand that it\u2019s already written and just go out there and do your best and trust in Him.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time Rattler got tatted, his path couldn\u2019t have seemed straighter. He was a five-star recruit signed with the University of Oklahoma, a quarterback factory that had just produced back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. His bold “two Heisman” prediction didn\u2019t seem too far fetched by the time he took over as Oklahoma\u2019s quarterback as the successor to Jalen Hurts. He led the Sooners to the Big 12 Cionference title, then entered the following season as the Heisman front-runner and the projected No. 1 overall pick.<\/p>\n
A path made crooked<\/p>\n
But everything changed the following season, when Rattler was benched for Caleb Williams, who eventually transferred to Southern Cal, won his own Heisman and went on to be the Chicago Bears’ No. 1 draft pick.<\/p>\n
Saints rookie linebacker Danny Stutsman was a freshman at Oklahoma that year and has seen Rattler\u2019s evolution from that 2021 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s night and day,\u201d Stutsman said. \u201cSpencer\u2019s development as a man and as a player has been huge. He faced a lot of adversity at Oklahoma. There were games when he was literally getting booed by his home crowd. That can really just kill your confidence. But his mindset really changed when he transferred to South Carolina. He really grew. He\u2019s always had the talent. But that mindset has completely changed. You can see it now in how he is a leader in this locker room.”<\/p>\n
Shane Beamer was an assistant at Oklahoma who became South Carolina\u2019s head coach and lured Rattler there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him during those times of adversity and how he handled it,\u201d Beamer said. “He came here (to South Carolina) and just worked hard and became a leader. He was voted a captain. He didn\u2019t force his leadership style on anyone. It was just being a good person and treating people the right way and working really hard and being consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
An unexpected opportunity<\/p>\n
That consistency eventually helped Rattler beat out Shough for the job. Now that he’s won it, he’ll try to keep it. Moore said Rattler won’t have to be looking over his shoulder as Shough uses this time to watch and learn. Four months ago, this season looked like it would be another one for Rattler to do the same. But that all changed May 10 when Carr unexpectedly retired.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was happy for Derek, because I knew he put in a lot of time,\u201d Rattler said. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a lot of respect for him. He took a lot of blame that he probably shouldn\u2019t have. I\u2019ve got love for him. I knew that was my opportunity to compete, and I was just excited for the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
So Rattler went to work, putting in non-stop work in the 110 degree weather in Arizona with Giovando. As much as he focused on footwork and throwing mechanics, there is another aspect of his game that he says will be key this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is mental toughness and faith, and you let the rest take care of itself,\u201d Rattler said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve always been pretty cool, calm and collected. There are times to be fiery. There are times to be cool and calm. Being a QB, you have to bounce back and play with confidence and show no fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next chapter<\/p>\n
Dowell Loggains has a Rattler jersey hanging in his office at Appalachian State University, where he’s in his first year as head coach. He was quarterbacks coach at South Carolina when Rattler played there. Before that, Loggains spent 13 seasons in the NFL as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. So he knows a thing or two what it takes to be successful in the NFL.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSpencer’s instincts and ability to process things quickly is NFL caliber,\u201d Loggains said. \u201cHe\u2019s equipped to do the job he\u2019s been called to do. He has the elite ability to focus on the job he needs to do and not worry about the things you can\u2019t control. We live in a world where every one is going to criticize the franchise quarterback. Spencer has been groomed to handle that burden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rattler knows it comes with the territory. The Saints\u2019 fanbase was divided all summer long. Half wanted Rattler to be named the starter. The other half preferred Shough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to see that in every competition around the league,\u201d Rattler said. \u201cYou can\u2019t listen to the outside noise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rattler is blocking that out and focusing on the guys in the Saints\u2019 locker room. They believe in him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe one thousand percent believe in him,\u201d said tight end Juwan Johnson. \u201cWe believed in him last year. We didn\u2019t see it in the win column. But we knew we had something special with this guy. He knows it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaheed calls Rattler \u201ca born leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite that description, Rattler wasn\u2019t voted one of the team\u2019s captains. He\u2019s one of the few quarterbacks in the league who isn\u2019t his team\u2019s captain. But he knows you don\u2019t have to be a captain to actually lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I don\u2019t have as much experience as a lot of these guys that are starters,\u201d Rattler said. \u201cBut I can build on that each week. I\u2019m confident on what I can do, and I think we have a lot of great pieces where I don\u2019t have to be Superman. And I think that\u2019s what’s great about it. Let the system work for you and you let your guys work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a time when Rattler was indeed Superman. He was supposed to be the next big thing. He still believes he can be. That starts Sunday when he faces the Cardinals, the team based in the same city Rattler\u2019s journey began. Being a Week 1 starter in the NFL is something he\u2019s dreamed about since he was kid. Now, it\u2019s a reality.<\/p>\n
\u201dI\u2019m just trying to attack it and make the most out of it,\u201d Rattler said. \u201cAnd make my story even better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spencer Rattler was the guy. Then all of a sudden, he wasn\u2019t. Now he\u2019s the guy again \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289800,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,4095,896,55,2572,2571,6,397],"class_list":{"0":"post-343416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-hardwall","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-saints","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanssaints","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-saints"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115151237674035463","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}