Former OU quarterback Spencer Rattler opened up about his tumultuous 2021 season with the Sooners, and addressed his departure from the program in an ESPN story published Friday.
The Phoenix native described his situation in Norman last year to ESPN’s Chris Low as “toxic,” but didn’t elaborate, saying “that will be a story for later.”
Rattler, who transferred to South Carolina on Dec. 13, was the Heisman Trophy favorite ahead of last season before being benched for Caleb Williams during Oklahoma’s Oct. 9 matchup with Texas.
"A lot of guys don't get another chance to start over where they're really wanted," Rattler said. "I was just happy to get away from a toxic situation and get somewhere new.
"Anywhere was going to be better, and I found the right place."
A “toxic situation” behind him at Oklahoma, Spencer Rattler is on a mission to rewrite the final chapter of his college football career at @GamecockFB. “You can just feel it here, this community, this city, these fans. We’re on the rise.” https://t.co/MQHYAchcmg
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) April 15, 2022
The former No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2019 recruiting class started 17 games for the Sooners prior to leaving Norman. Rattler led OU to a 15-2 record as a starter with wins over Iowa State in the 2020 Big 12 Championship Game, and Florida in the 2020 Cotton Bowl.
Committing to the Gamecocks reunited Rattler with former OU tight end Austin Stogner, who transferred there as well. Additionally, former Oklahoma tight ends and H-backs coach Shane Beamer is head coach in Columbia.
Beamer and Stogner also spoke to ESPN and defended Rattler’s character, which was questioned in some circles during his time in Norman.
"All that was foreign to me, and I was there with him for two years," Beamer said. "The Spencer I saw never flinched no matter the situation. He was also benched for a short time against Texas in 2020 and then came back out there in the second half and led us to a four-overtime win and didn't lose a game the rest of the season.
"The Spencer I saw worked really hard and prepared to be the starter in 2019 when (Jalen Hurts) was our quarterback. So whatever he was made out to be or whatever the narrative was, I didn't really care because I saw with my own eyes who he was."
Stogner, who capped his Sooners career with 14 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns in 2021, dismissed any notion that Rattler was a bad teammate. The Plano, Texas native announced his decision to transfer to South Carolina on the same night as Rattler.
“When you look at the facts of what happened there with Spencer, it looks a little different than what some people are making it out to be," Stogner said. "He won big games. He won a conference championship, the kind of things 95 percent of teams would kill for from their quarterback. It's crazy how quickly they turned on him.
"But for anybody to say he was a bad teammate doesn't make any sense to me. I guess he was such a bad teammate that one of his teammates there wanted to go play with him at South Carolina."
The ex-Sooners tight end also commented on Lincoln Riley’s swift exit from Oklahoma in his interview with ESPN. Stogner said the LSU rumors lingering around the coach before he was eventually hired by Southern California became “a distraction” at the end of last season.
"It was weird, all the LSU rumors and Coach Riley never addressed them. It became a distraction for that last game," Stogner said. "But there was nothing about USC until we were all in the meeting. He kept it under wraps. It's hard to believe it all happened in 12 hours like he said.”
Rattler and Stogner can be seen in South Carolina’s annual Garnet and Black Spring Game at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 16 on SEC Network+ and ESPN+.
