It’s no secret that Lincoln Riley earned a reputation as something of a QB whisperer during his time as head coach at OU. After Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, both transfers, left for the NFL, Riley had two big name QB recruits to call his own: Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams.
Rattler and Williams were both highly touted recruits out of high school being ranked at 29th and 16th in their respective ESPN 300 Class Rankings.
Before enrolling at OU, both of them competed at the Elite 11, a competition for the best high school QBs in the country. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Billy Tucker ranked the Top 20 Elite 11 performers since the competition debuted in 1999.
Spencer Rattler ranked 19 and Caleb Williams came in one spot ahead of his former teammate at No. 18. Here’s what Tucker had to say about Rattler:
Rattler was up-and-down in 7-on-7 play at the finals but caught fire on the final day in one of the more dynamic performances in Elite 11 history, leading his team to the 7-on-7 championship at the opening and earning Elite 11 MVP honors in 2018. After becoming the most prolific passer is Arizona high school football history, Rattler enrolled at Oklahoma with high expectations. He was named the starter in his redshirt freshman season and led the Sooners to another Big 12 championship, while still not playing to his full potential. Entering his second season as starter, he was considered a Heisman favorite, but after poor play he lost the starting job to freshman Caleb Williams and ultimately transferred to South Carolina. – Tucker, ESPN
And here’s what he had to say about Caleb Williams:
In an altered finals format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams was still able to flash top-notch physical gifts and leadership qualities on his way to Elite 11 MVP honors in 2020. His accuracy on the rollouts and zip on intermediate balls separated him from the pack. He went to Oklahoma as the projected backup to Rattler. Thrust into the spotlight in the Red River rivalry, Williams threw for 212 yards, ran for 88 and totaled three touchdowns en route to a memorable comeback. He finished the year by throwing for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns and running for 442 yards and six touchdowns. After the season, he elected to transfer to USC, following coach Lincoln Riley, and is slated to start for the Trojans. – Tucker, ESPN
It’s funny how things can change so quickly. In another universe, Lincoln Riley doesn’t go to USC, Rattler gets drafted after having a great season and Caleb Williams doesn’t play a snap in 2021.
I’ve said in the past that I think Caleb Williams is going to be very good someday. That is still true. As for Rattler, he chose a very difficult path to get back to where he wants to be at the college level.
Rattler never seemed like the best fit for Riley’s offense. We’ll see if Shane Beamer and Marcus Satterfield can get a bit more out of him than Riley did last year.
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