New Orleans Saints bench Spencer Rattler vs. Chargers, put in Jake Haener
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler recently got his chance to shine for the franchise. However, that opportunity has been very short lived. On Sunday, the Saints decided to bench Rattler and put in third string signal-caller Jake Haener.
Before joining the Saints, Rattler finished up his career with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Rattler found a pretty good comfort zone with the Gamecocks, throwing for over 3,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He also tossed at least 18 touchdowns in both of those seasons, while throwing his most interceptions (12) in 2022.
Once he wrapped up his career in Columbia, Rattler had cemented his place among the best passers in school history, despite only playing for them for two years. He finished fifth in all-time passing yards (6,212), first in career completion percentage (.675), fifth in career completions (523), and ninth in career passing touchdowns (37).
His senior year with the Gamecocks, Rattler threw for 3,186 yards, with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He ranked fifth in the SEC and 27th in the NCAA in total passing yards. It was also the third-highest single-season total in Gamecock football history. The Arizona native threw for 399 yards against Jacksonville State, ranking him eighth in school history.
His junior year with South Carolina, Rattler put up similar numbers, throwing for 3,026 yards, while tossing in 18 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. He guided the Gamecocks to two wins over Top 10 opponents that year, No. 5 Tennessee and No. 7 Clemson. In the win over Tennessee, Rattler delivered one of the best performances in school history, torching the Volunteers for 438 passing yards and a school-record six touchdowns with no interceptions. Not only that, he also completed 30 of 37 passes in the 63-38 thrashing of Tennessee. The 438 passing yards were the fourth-most in a single-game in South Carolina football history.
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In his team’s 31-30 win over No. 7 Clemson, Rattler completed 25-of-39 passes for 360 yards, while tossing in two touchdowns and running for another score. Those two wins were without a doubt the biggest highlights of his career with the Gamecocks.
Before joining South Carolina, Rattler had a very up-and-down tenure with the Oklahoma Sooners. His redshirt sophomore year in Norman, he threw for 1,483 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, before ultimately being benched for Caleb Williams. His redshirt freshman season at Oklahoma was much better. Rattler was named the National Freshman of the Year by CBS Sports, after he threw for over 3,000 yards, tossing in 28 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
Spencer Rattler was prolific in high school
Coming out of Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona, Rattler was one of the most highly decorated quarterback prospects in the nation. He was selected to play in the Army All-American Bowl, won the 7-on-7 championship at Nike’s The Opening, and won MVP honors at the Elite 11 quarterback competition. According to the On3 Industry Rankings for the 2019 cycle, Rattler was ranked as a five-star prospect and the No. 1 quarterback in America.
He starred in the hit Netflix documentary QB1: Beyond The Lights: Season 3. He finished his career at Pinnacle as Arizona’s all-time passing leader with 11,083 career yards, cementing his place as one of the best quarterbacks in state history.