Latest on weekend official visitors

The South Carolina Gamecocks are hosting at least three official visitors on their campus this weekend and Gamecock Central has the latest on what it’s hearing for its subscribers inside.

SUBSCRIBER LINK: Saturday night update on OVs

• Subscribe to Gamecock Central until Aug. 31 for only $29.99

Spencer Rattler speaks on return to South Carolina: ‘I love it here’

After a deliberate and in-depth decision-making process, Spencer Rattler is officially back at the reins of the South Carolina football offense.

The former five-star quarterback who transferred to South Carolina last offseason from Oklahoma was once assumed to be a one-and-done player in Columbia.

But feeling he has more to prove and finding a comfort level with Shane Beamer’s program, Rattler announced on Tuesday night with a Wolf of Wall Street “I’m not leaving” video that he’s back for the 2023 season.

“It definitely feels great to be back,” Rattler said Wednesday in an exclusive Garnet Trust interview with Gamecock Central‘s Chris Clark. “Coach Beamer and Coach (Dowell) Loggains and what they’ve been talking about, our goals this upcoming season, Juice (Wells) coming back, and a lot of other key parts coming back. I’m super excited. It’s definitely a blessing being here, I love it here, the fans are great, everything is great, so it was a good decision.”

• Become a NIL supporter of your South Carolina Gamecocks!

Rattler, who finished his first season at South Carolina with 3,026 yards while completing 264 of 399 passes with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, ended the regular season with an open mind about returning to Columbia.

He first made the decision to play in South Carolina’s bowl game at the end of the year before carefully weighing the pros and cons of a return vs. making the jump to the NFL.

“The main factors were, just seeing what the draft stock was, weighing those options out, and obviously if I was to do that, it could have changed over time, and been fluid,” Rattler explained. “But definitely wanting to come back and do more here. Especially with Juice coming back, Coach Beamer excited, having a new OC that’s been in the NFL for 15 years, that knows the game and knows what it’s like on that next level.

“Just getting another year to get prepared and understand the game more and learn as much as I can before making that jump. The stock will improve itself if we all do our thing on the field. That’s not the focus but it’s definitely a part of it. I’m just happy to be back.”

• Subscribe to Gamecock Central until Aug. 31 for only $29.99

Rattler wasn’t the only highly regarded South Carolina player to announce his return this week. One day prior to the quarterback’s social media post, his top receiver Juice Wells also revealed his plans to be back in the Garnet and Black for 2023.

“I wouldn’t say my decision was affected by his decision, it was kind of the other way around, like you said he said but we definitely communicated a few times each week just checking up on each other, seeing what we’re thinking,” Rattler said of Wells. “I think inside we both knew, ‘Hey, we come back, we can do some special things,’ so that’s where we’re at now and we’re getting ready for the offseason, already started our workouts, which have been great so far, and we’re just getting started.”

With the return of Rattler and Wells, new South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains inherits the Gamecocks’ top passer and receiver from last season.

While they haven’t gotten deep into the Xs and Os yet, Rattler said he and Loggains met about their vision for the offense prior to his decision.

Rattler and Beamer, who have known each other since they were both at Oklahoma, also stayed in close contact during the process.

“Coach Beamer was great,” Rattler said. “He gave great feedback from start to finish. Obviously, he wanted me to come back and was adamant about that, as he should be. But yeah he gave me great feedback. He heard what he heard from the NFL and (shared) what he thought we could do this year. You know him, he’s very positive and very influential. I made the decision and he was very happy.”

Beamer wasn’t the only one as Gamecock Nation celebrated on Tuesday night the return of their quarterback.

Discuss South Carolina football and the Spencer Rattler return on The Insiders Forum!