Jimbo Fisher recalls Spencer Rattler as a recruit, what he sees from him now

Scouting Spencer Rattler as Texas A&M prepares to go to South Carolina won’t be as difficult as some of the other quarterbacks the Aggies have faced this season. That’s not a knock on the Gamecock quarterback, though, and is more about the familiarity Jimbo Fisher has with him.

Fisher spoke about Rattler’s high school recruitment and watching the former five-star prospect out of Pinnacle High School during media on Monday. He said he remembers keeping up with Rattler as one of the many coaches to offer him and how even then how Rattler’s teams would run the other teams off the field.

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“I remember watching him in high school,” said Fisher. “Was a very, very talented guy. Could throw it, could run. He didn’t make very many mistakes in high school. They were up and down the field and he killed everybody.”

It’s been a long road since Rattler was that same prospect coming out of Phoenix, Arizona. It has amounted to four years of up-and-down football with Oklahoma and South Carolina. His transfer to Columbia was supposed to be a fresh start but, to this point of the season, he has only five touchdowns compared to eight interceptions.

Even as a 22-year old redshirt junior, though, Fisher believes Rattler still has a lot to learn. He thinks picking up new defenses, especially in the SEC, is a continuous challenge for a quarterback. Considering all things, he says Rattler is playing well for the Gamecocks.

“That’s what it’s like in the college game. Everything, the reads, the pressures, the different defenses is a maturation process that you gotta go through,” Fisher said. “He seems to be doing that very well. He’s leading them, got great arm talent, and has just got a great presence back there playing quarterback.”

Regardless of Rattler’s struggles, he’s still more than capable of giving A&M fits this weekend. That’s why Fisher is lucky to have that extra layer of knowledge from back in his 2019 recruitment. It may not all be useful, but Fisher will take what he can get in order to help the Aggies break their two-game losing streak.