Gamecock QB great gave Spencer Rattler this advice ahead of last season’s strong finish
A new Spencer Rattler walked into Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 19. He walked out with the game of his career and a victory over the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers.
Rattler brought that same swagger to Clemson the next week and walked out with another top-10 win over the in-state rival Tigers.
His combined 798-yard, eight-touchdown performance across those two games was a big departure from the rest of his 2022 results. He entered the Tennessee matchup having thrown nine interceptions to eight touchdowns while averaging 198 passing yards a game.
South Carolina football great and current play-by-play announcer Todd Ellis had given Rattler some advice, quarterback to quarterback, before he faced off with the Volunteers. Ellis is the No. 1 career passer in Gamecocks history with 9,953 yards between 1986 and 1989. He ranks second among starting quarterback wins with 24 (behind Connor Shaw’s 27).
Ellis told the Mac & Bone podcast in an interview that aired Monday that he noticed the young signal caller often forced unnecessary throws. Rattler would sling the ball into too small of a window, which often led to a play falling apart rather than into place, Ellis said.
“A lot of people, including myself, had talked to him and said, ‘Spencer, the difference in this league and the difference in your career since you’ve gone from high school is, you don’t have to make every play,’ ” Ellis said. “ ‘We play pretty good defense, we kick the heck out of the football and you’ve got some athletes around you.’ And I think he started to realize that. Then he really played loose.
“So now you’ve got one of the top talented arms in the country playing within himself but yet playing loose. And if that formula comes back, then the ceiling is only going to be raised for him.”
Ellis also spoke highly of Rattler’s ability to make throws and move around in the pocket. The former quarterback said he views Rattler’s skills as ones that could easily translate to the NFL.
When asked about Rattler’s inertia heading into the 2023 campaign, Ellis brought up new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains as a potential hindrance.
“I think everybody feels like that’s a good thing,” Ellis said of Loggains’ hiring. “But still that changes things, guys, as we all know. They didn’t change every bit of the offense, but terminology and some things they’re going to emphasize. Obviously late in the season, they were in a groove together as how they were calling plays and running them. And now Loggains and Spencer Rattler have got to get on the same page here pretty quickly.”
South Carolina opens preseason practice on Aug. 4, with the season opener Sept. 2 against UNC in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
This story was originally published July 17, 2023 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Gamecock QB great gave Spencer Rattler this advice ahead of last season’s strong finish."
