Spencer Rattler shares feelings for battle with Drake Maye

The South Carolina Gamecocks will kick their season off with a bang as they are set to take on their rivals to the north, the North Carolina Tar Heels. This will be a huge regional matchup for several reasons, one of which is the showdown between two of the better quarterbacks in college football, Spencer Rattler and Drake Maye.

Fans are undoubtedly excited about this contest, but so are the players. Recently, South Carolina’s star quarterback revealed just how amped he is for the Week 1 throwdown.

“Yeah, I’m excited for the game. I haven’t met Drake yet,” said Rattler. “He kind of blew up on the scene last year, had a great season. Credit to him. I’m excited to get to compete versus them. It will be a fun game. Hopefully we’ll put on a show.”

South Carolina has improved each season under head coach Shane Beamer, and they’re looking to continue that trend in 2023. Last season was Rattlers’ first year at South Carolina, and he was able to lead the Gamecocks to an 8-5 record, an improvement from their 7-6 record of 2021.

The Gamecocks will have a lot on their hands attempting to slow down Maye, who is widely considered to be one of the top two quarterbacks entering the season. And with Maye’s dual-threat capability, he has the ability to beat defenses in many ways. But so can Rattler and the Gamecocks offense. Rattler finished off his first season at South Carolina strong, passing for over 3000 yards with 18 touchdowns and completing more than 66 percent of his past attempts.

The matchup between South Carolina and North Carolina will be an exciting one and quite possibly the top matchup in week 1. And the Gamecocks quarterback is just as excited as the fans for their season-opening matchup that will pit two of the best quarterbacks in college football against one another.

Rattler shares what South Carolina fans should expect in new offense

On the subject of their offense, South Carolina is expected to take a leap in 2023, after they made a change at offensive coordinator in the offseason. Beamer hired former longtime NFL assistant coach Dowell Loggains as the Gamecocks’ new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Rattler previewed what fans should expect to see in Loggains’ offensive scheme.

“Obviously, he’s come in with his new offense. He’s been coaching quarterbacks for years in the NFL, and has a lot of experience,” Rattler said. “The offense is very quarterback friendly.

“It plays to our strengths. He knows what our strengths are, which is good. He loves our offense, our group, and keeps teaching us daily. We’re still putting together with camp here in two weeks. We’re excited to get in there and keep improving.”

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this article