After a big run of quarterbacks in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, none were selected on Friday night in either the second or third rounds. South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler remained available until the New Orleans Saints selectedhim in the fifth round. The former five-star recruit reportedly slid down the draft board amid concerns from NFL scouts,according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
"It's interesting, I talked to scouts tonight about why we haven't heard Spencer Rattler's name yet, one is there's really no middle class of quarterbacks anymore," Thamel said Friday night. "This is the third time in the last seven years we've not heard a quarterback's name in the second round. And then it comes to down to Spencer Rattler's tangibles and intangibles. No one questions Spencer Rattler's arm, but he's just 6 feet tall and he runs a [4.5]-flat 40. And then there's the intangibles about Rattler, especially going back to his days at Oklahoma when he lost the job to Caleb Williams. There's questions about his work ethic, questions about his attitude and you have to ask the question if you draft him: Can you trust him to come in and be a backup?"
Rattler spent the past two seasons as the starting quarterback at South Carolina after transferring from Oklahoma in 2022. He drew positive reviews throughout the Senior Bowl week back in February, turning the heads of media and scouts in attendance. The former five-star recruit competed alongside first-round picks Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr., as well as other NFL Draft hopefuls.
Rattler was named the top quarterback on the American team, an accolade voted on by defensive teammates.
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer defended his quarterback on social media Saturday morning.
"Such a tired, lazy narrative. And bull crap," Beamer wrote. "None of the NFL teams that called me said that. And any team that thinks that clearly hasn't done their research He dealt [with] adversity at[Oklahoma]in a class way, came to [South Carolina], was a great player and was voted by his TEAMMATES as a captain ... TWO YEARS IN A ROW. He's a great person, great player and some team is getting a future starter today."
One NFL Draft analyst told 247Sports that Rattler rose to an "early Day 2 grade" with his performance at the Senior Bowl practices, which meant he should land in the second or third round as one of the higher-tier players at his position.
The 6-foot-1, 218-pound passer made 42 combined starts between both schools. He posted a combined 28-14 record as the starter. Rattler completed 68.5% of his passes for 10,807 yards and 77 touchdowns with 32 interceptions. He also rushed for 410 yards and 16 touchdowns on 297 carries.
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Rattler rated as a five-star prospect coming out of Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle in the 2019 recruiting class. He ranked as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback and No. 9 overall recruit regardless of position. Rattler initially enrolled at Oklahoma over additional offers from Alabama, Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Utah and others.
Brad Crawford contributed to this report.
