Instagram Spencer Rattler will start the college football season as a third-string quarterback for Oklahoma.
The end of Spencer Rattler’s high school career ended with mystery, and the “QB1” series did little to provide clarity as to what caused the quarterback to miss the end of his senior season. Spencer was ruled ineligible back in October 2018 for a violation of “district code of conduct policy,” per AZ Central.
Rattler has remained quiet about the specific issue that caused him to miss the end of the season. Rattler’s dad, Michael Rattler, noted on the show that the family planned to keep the incident private, per The Oklahoman.
“I’ve heard all kinds of rumors, and 98 percent of them are wrong,” Michael Rattler said, per The Oklahoman. “So, I’ll just put that out there. It’s a private thing. We’re going to keep it that way.”
Rattler Initially Claimed He Was Missing Games Due to an MCL Injury
One of the odd parts of the story is that Rattler and his family originally claimed the quarterback was missing time because of an MCL injury, per AZ Central. Pinnacle’s game was slated to be broadcast on ESPNU, and Rattler’s father noted at the time that the school advised them to cite an injury as the reason for his absence.
“We met with the administration at the school,” Michael Rattler noted to AZ Central. “We discussed how we need to handle the situation. We were rushed for time. They advised us on what we could say and we came up with our own narrative, feeling we could get past it.”
Rattler Noted He Was Ruled Ineligible & Was Not Suspended by Pinnacle
Rattler did offer a bit of clarity on “QB1” when he emphasized that he was not suspended but ruled ineligible. Rattler cited a “code of conduct” rule for his ineligibility during an episode of “QB1,” per The Oklahoman.
“A day or two before the ESPN game, I messed up,” Rattler noted, per The Oklahoman. “It was a code of conduct rule, and I was ineligible, not suspended. It was a childish and dumb mistake.”
Rattler Is Now Playing College Football at Oklahoma
Coming out of Pinnacle High School in Arizona, Rattler was one of the top-rated prospects as a five-star recruit and the No. 1 ranked pro-style quarterback in the country, per 247 Sports. Rattler was recruited by a number of top college football programs including Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M and Michigan State.
Rattler ended up enrolling at Oklahoma where Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts was recently named the starting quarterback. Rattler was part of the quarterback competition but faced a tall task in beating out Hurts given his championship experience. Rattler will begin the season as the Sooners third-string quarterback. The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber reported that Oklahoma would “prefer” to redshirt Rattler this season.
As Oklahoma prepares to play Houston, Rattler has been playing the role of Cougars’ quarterback D’Eriq King in practice, per Tulsa World. Earlier this offseason, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley praised Rattler’s ability to be a quick study.
“He’s done a nice job,” Riley told The Oklahoman. “He’s a very gifted thrower. He’s, more than anybody, just kind of in a race against time, having not been here in the spring. You can certainly tell that the other two were here for spring…He’s gaining on — not necessarily gaining on Jalen or gaining on Tanner — but just gaining on getting to the point where he can execute and communicate everything that we want him to. He’s a quick study.”
