Spencer Rattler addresses South Carolina offseason buzz, his goals for 2022

Spencer Rattler was one of the highest-profile players to hit the transfer portal this offseason. Now, he’s getting ready for his first season at South Carolina — and he discussed the buzz this offseason ahead of the Manning Passing Academy, which he’s attending this weekend in Louisiana.

After leaving Oklahoma, Rattler became the No. 5-ranked transfer to hit the portal, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. He’s now reuniting with former Sooners tight ends coach Shane Beamer and former Oklahoma tight end Austin Stogner — On3’s No. 3-ranked tight end transfer this offseason.

After going through spring ball and as he now gets ready for training camp, Rattler appears to be settling in just fine in Columbia.

“The vibe is great,” Rattler said. “I mean, the whole city is excited for us to play. The Gamecock fans are some of the most loyal, excited fans that I’ve seen so far. So the vibe is great. Coach Beamer’s first year turned the program around. Seven-, eight-win season, we expect to do a lot better this year. But it’s a start.

“I kind of like not having all the hype on us before the season because you’ve got to live up to so much. So being able to kind of sneak up on people, that’s our goal. And just play as hard as we can and win games.”

Spencer Rattler on his goals for the 2022 season

Rattler also discussed his goals for the season, and they’re pretty simple. Last year, he went from Heisman Trophy hopeful to watching Caleb Williams star for Oklahoma, and now he’s going to try and help South Carolina improve in Beamer’s second season.

Rattler’s goals aren’t about numbers, though. He’s more focused on the moment, which is something he and the team focused on during spring ball.

“Really just taking it game by game, really like minute by minute,” Rattler said. “So we did that in the spring and had a great spring. It’s making our summer workouts serious. But we’ve just got to focus on Game 1, Georgia State, and then from there on we roll. But yeah, just game by game.”