As fans embrace his return, Spencer Rattler optimistic about Year 2 at South Carolina

There’s a line wrapping from the foul pole down the third base line to the scoreboard in left center field at Segra Park on Thursday night.

There are deals for $2 brews on this night as fans clamber toward the bars scattered throughout the ballpark. A meeting between the Columbia Fireflies and Augusta GreenJackets, too, is on tap. But these 200-plus gathered fans have other reasons for their patience. They’re here for the 22-year-old in the gray ball cap and a Fireflies practice jersey making his way from home plate, down the concourse and accompanied by a police officer.

They’re here for Spencer Rattler.

“It’s a great feeling,” Rattler told The State, a smile gracing his face, of the fan support he’s received. “I mean, those kids that came out. I talked to two people that have been ticket holders since the ’50s. That’s just amazing. It’s great.”

The Gamecocks’ starting quarterback threw out the first pitch Thursday at Segra Park as part of a name, image and likeness event sponsored by Garnet Trust, South Carolina’s most prominent collective. It was the latest in a string of appearances the fifth-year quarterback has made throughout the offseason and a steady reminder of his popularity within the team’s fan base.

Under most circumstances, Rattler wouldn’t be here. He’d be in his first or second NFL training camp. He’d have heard his name called on draft night, more likely as an Oklahoma Sooner than a South Carolina Gamecock. But Rattler’s well-documented, well-traveled college career is finally ready for what should be a final act: one last season in Columbia.

“It’s only my senior year,” Rattler said. “A lot of guys play till they’re 24, 25 — I’m only 22. I feel like I’m where God needs me to be. Where God has my feet is the right spot and he has me here for a reason. I truly believe that.”

Perception isn’t always reality. At least that’s how the old cliché goes. Well, Rattler sure altered perception and reality over the final two weeks of the 2022 regular season. South Carolina was seemingly destined for another 6-6 campaign ahead of meetings with No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson. Tennessee was prepping for a shot at the College Football Playoff. South Carolina was hoping to avoid a bowl game in Birmingham.

But that’s what makes Rattler so special — and so beloved — around these parts.

The former five-star signal-caller eviscerated the Tennessee defense to the tune of six touchdown passes. His 438 yards were the fourth-best passing output in school history. A week later, he chomped on a cigar and danced in the smoke after completing 25 of 39 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another in USC’s first win over rival Clemson in nearly a decade.

Those are legacy defining things: things that will be remembered in Columbia independent of how this year plays out.

“There was nobody in the entire world, other than my family and — well, I’m not sure (my family) thought we were going to win,” head coach Shane Beamer said after South Carolina’s 63-38 romp of Tennessee.

That Rattler has been embraced in Columbia won’t make much difference come Sept. 2 when South Carolina opens its season in what should be a top 25 matchup against North Carolina and quarterback Drake Maye in Charlotte. That’s the thing about college football. Recency bias reigns supreme.

Rattler knows these things. It’s why he’s spent the offseason prepping. It’s why, with one more season at USC, he can cement his status as one of the more high-upside draft-eligible quarterbacks in this year’s class.

The Arizona native is coy and smirking when asked how this year’s offense and last year’s system might compare under new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. “I guess you’ll have to wait till Game 1,” he joked. Rattler also gushes at the idea of how newcomers Trey Knox and Josh Simon might complement a receiving corps dripping with experience and led by the SEC’s most productive returning receiver in Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr.

So, what is in store for Rattler this year? We’ll see. The hope is more production and fewer mistakes. There’s a world where, if he musters some of that magic he found between Nov. 19-26 last fall, he can play his way into the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

“It’s always good to have guys with experience, obviously — especially in this conference.” Rattler said. “And then having a year under my belt with these guys just makes the chemistry better.”

Rattler chuckles when asked if he feels old now. At 22, that feels almost ancient for a star quarterback in this day and age. But the ex-Oklahoma signal-caller-turned-Gamecock has some wisdom about his path these days. He doesn’t shy from the idea he’s taken a road less traveled by star standards. He’s genuinely thankful for the way South Carolina fans — including those that lined the concourses at Segra Park for the better part of two hours — have embraced him.

There’s likely another first pitch somewhere in Rattler’s future. Play like he did down the stretch last fall and it’ll likely be at a Major League park where fans will ooze with optimism about what he can bring to their favorite organization.

Rattler delivered a strike — or at least said he did, tongue in cheek — ahead of Thursday’s Fireflies game.

South Carolina fans will hope he saves a few strikes for the football field this fall.