NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Long before Spencer Rattler took a snap at South Carolina, head football coach Shane Beamer's relationship with him was born in 2018 when Oklahoma was recruiting Rattler.
During Beamer's time in Norman, OK, he saw first hand how Rattler handled the ups and downs of his high-profile position and that relationship led the two to reunite in Columbia.
"I think the biggest thing, one, is forget about what he did on the field. I knew what kind of person Spencer is," Beamer said.
"It wasn’t like I was bringing in a guy to play quarterback that I didn’t know. I spent two years with him at Oklahoma, a little bit longer if you count the recruiting process as well. He was committed when I got there, but I was with him in those two seasons. So I knew what kind of person he was.
"Forget about his talent level on the field because that speaks for itself, but the way he handled himself off the field during my two seasons [in Norman] was really good for me to see.
Not to mention his first year there was Jalen Hurts as the quarterback. So he got to see Jalen Hurts come in as a transfer quarterback. I don’t want to speak for Spencer, but I would imagine that helped him seeing that when he made the transition to Columbia."