This is Rattler's team, let's roll

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley remembers very clearly when he was first introduced to quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Following Rattler’s freshman high school season, then-OU assistant coach Tim Kish told Riley there’s this young quarterback in Phoenix you might want to take a look toward, although it might be too early to know.

It wasn’t, obviously. Rattler was offered by Riley not too long after, and the relationship has been forged for years and years.

All roads pointing toward the one we’re on in the 2021 season. A five-star for the 2019 class, this was the plan. Learn, take some lumps and then be ready to be the heir apparent, the golden child he had seemingly been destined for years.

Rattler couldn’t have finished the 2020 season any stronger, and now the weight of expectations are on him more than ever. That’s OK. He’s embracing it and understands that’s the spotlight you’re under as the quarterback for the Sooners, ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll.

This team is going to go as far as Rattler will take them, and people are going to be watching his every move every step of the way.

“I think the conversation this year has been more about, it's going to be a daily fight for him to just stay focused on the things that are going to matter,” Riley said. “Things that are going to make the difference in the end, and realize that doing those little things well on the field (and) off the field are going to be what determines your success, not what somebody writes or some outside expectation.

“And so we try to keep him focused on, you know, meeting his own and our expectations and him being a productive member of this team. He’s a much better player right now than he was at any point last year.”

Last year wasn’t a dud, though. It just felt different after five years of Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts. The offense still produced numbers, but there were some very unfamiliar periods of ineffectiveness.

Rattler completed the season throwing for 3,031 yards with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for six more scores. Digging deeper into his stats, though, is where you start to truly find the growth and why Rattler is among the preseason favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.

Following back-to-back turnovers in the first half against Texas in game No. 4 last season that led to a brief benching or ‘timeout’ as Rattler phrased it, he became a different person.

Five interceptions in a little over three games and only two more the rest of the way. He took what could have been a disastrous 1-2 start to the year and turned it into OU’s sixth straight Big 12 title and a Cotton Bowl win vs. Florida.

“With Spencer, going into year two the things I've seen, like spot on, is his comfort within the offense,” wide receiver Marvin Mims said. “Another thing that's spoken to me a lot is his leadership. So we've all had to step into different leadership roles, which has been a really good thing because we're all doing it kind of together. It's not just one person doing this or one person doing that, it's mostly us. Spencer, it's just a different type of mindset this year than it was last year.”

A mindset that he carried over into winter workouts, into spring practice, into the summer and preseason camp and now the season is officially here.

He was still learning on the job as a first-year starter last season, but that’s not who he is now. On the field, off the field, he’s a different guy.

Someone whose brash persona might have turned people off dating back to his high school days has turned into someone his teammates voted as one of the four team captains for the 2021 season, one of the unquestioned leaders.

“He's a smart quarterback, and he's always making the right decisions,” cornerback D.J. Graham said. “He doesn't crack under pressure, he doesn't just throw the ball up, none of that. Watching him getting autographs and people just flooding him is, it’s surreal, you know, but hey, you're the quarterback at OU and you're making plays so like what do you expect?

“We’re all happy for him. No animosity towards him, no envy towards him, it’s all just – we’re all right behind him. He’s our quarterback.”

Even the new guys understand. Former Arkansas receiver Mike Woods wasn’t even part of the team during the spring, arriving soon after.

Woods did all he could to build that necessary rapport with Rattler during the summer, and the two appear to have hit a groove during preseason camp.

For someone who has played a lot of ball and produced at a high level, you can tell Woods understands that Rattler might just be a rare breed.

“Spencer, obviously in my opinion and a lot of peoples’ opinion, is the best quarterback in college football,” Woods said. “Definitely, he’s very talented. He makes very good throws. He’s very confident and that’s something every quarterback needs. You’ve just got to be very confident, and that’s something he just does not lack.”

He doesn’t lack in confidence, but where Rattler wants to change things this season is in the success department.

Check off a seventh straight Big 12 championship but go that next step and bring home the eighth national championship.

He’s not that guy yet, but he’s hoping that narrative will change four months from now, culminating with a January night in Indianapolis, the site of the national championship game. As confident as he is, he hasn’t accomplished what he set out to do. Not just yet.

“I gotta go get it. As a team, we gotta go get a national championship,” Rattler said. “We gotta go get a Big 12 championship. So once we get that, we can celebrate after. But we gotta take those day by day and step by step to get there. Myself and the team. I think everybody on the team knows that for their own personal goals and the team goals. All the coaches know it. It just feels different this year. I think it’s going to be a fun year. I know we’re going to go do our job and have fun.”