Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler came into the 2021 college football season as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner and a surefire top 5 NFL Draft pick…
Fast forward to today, and he’s sitting on the bench in Norman, watching Caleb Williams run the offense with an efficiency that Rattler couldn’t seem to muster in his five-and-a-half weeks under center.
Rattler’s struggles were hard to hide. Despite the mediocre competition he was facing, he managed just 10 touchdowns to five interceptions — and five of those touchdowns came against Western Carolina. His highest yardage total in a single game was 304 yards, he has just two games with 250 yards or more, and he’s thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in just three of his six appearances this year.
So what gives?
Everyone has their theory, and one of them that’s surfaced on Twitter is the possibility that Rattler may be nursing a knee injury. Just look at these photos, one from last season where Rattler is not wearing a knee brace, and one from this season where he is:
He clearly started wearing a knee brace at some point after that Nebraska game. Upon further investigation, we can see him wearing it at last year’s Cotton Bowl against Florida:
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And here he is during the Sooner’s Spring Game, once again wearing some extra support on that left knee:
While he has been seen wearing the brace as late as September 18 against Nebraska, he appears to have at least shed the big brace for his next three games against West Virginia, Kansas State and Texas.
So? Is the knee the real reason for Rattler’s struggles? Or was everyone simply guilty of overrating the Sooners quarterback? We may never know the real answer to this mystery.
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