Ahead of his NFL debut with the Saints, Spencer Rattler drew some high praise from his former South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer.
The New Orleans Saints Week 5 action did not go the way they had hoped it would. Not only did they suffer a 26-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but their starting quarterback Derek Carr suffered an oblique injury late in the game that is expected to force him to miss multiple weeks of action. As a result, the team is turning to fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler for their Week 6 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rattler has yet to make his NFL debut, and he is being thrown into a tough situation, as the Saints have lost three straight games and are facing off against a divisional opponent in the Bucs. However, there are a lot of folks who are confident in Rattler's ability to deliver the goods for New Orleans, and that includes his former head coach at South Carolina in Shane Beamer, who left a rave review of the rookie passer prior to his debut for the Saints.
“Calm and confident. The bigger the game, the more confidence and swagger he has. He truly feels like he's going to dominate every time he goes out there. Spencer is everything you'd want a quarterback to be.” – Shane Beamer, NFL.com
Saints hoping Spencer Rattler can deliver in NFL debut
Rattler posted some big numbers during his time in college, and he is fresh off a solid 2023 campaign under Beamer's lead with the Gamecocks (275/399, 3186 YDS, 23 TOT TD, 8 INT). The NFL is a different animal, though, and Rattler will immediately be tested against a tough Tampa Bay defense that will surely be aggressive in their quest to throw him off his game.
With weapons such as Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara supporting him, though, Rattler will have the keys needed to succeed in his first NFL start. Whether or not he can could be the difference between the Saints finding their way back to .500, or losing their fourth straight game. If you ask Beamer, though, Rattler is ready for this challenge, and the rookie passer will look to prove his old coach right when he takes the field on Sunday afternoon.
