Spencer Rattler has already run the gamut throughout his young career. One that very few players have or will ever experience.

Reality TV star and No. 1-ranked quarterback in his recruiting class. Explosive second season in which he broke team records and became a college star. Offseason hype and expectations as the Heisman Trophy favorite and potential No. 1 overall NFL draft pick. Then adversity when he failed to meet that hype in a very public way and faded from the same spotlight that had been shining so brightly on him.

And now, a transfer to South Carolina and an opportunity to put all of that in the past.

So after all of those experiences – mountain highs, valley lows – it’s not surprising that the first thing Rattler talked about in a press conference on Wednesday was taking a deep breath and getting a fresh start.

“I feel totally just refreshed to be at a new university, a great university like this,” Rattler said. “I feel a sense of, I’m just really comfortable here. Knowing coach [Shane] Beamer, getting to know all these guys in my first month up here. I made a great decision, and I’m happy to be in this position.

“I feel like the pressure’s taken off a little bit this year. My main focus right now is just starting up with my team in about a week-and-a-half after spring break and taking on spring ball.”

There will arguably be no player on this Gamecocks squad for whom the spring season will be more crucial than Rattler. New pro-style offensive system with new terminology to learn, chemistry to develop with a different group of skill positions and linemen. And the chance to fully lock down the starting job – something that is rightfully assumed but still needs to be taken care of.

There’s excitement around the Gamecocks program that was aided by Beamer exceeding expectations for year one and leading South Carolina to its first seven-win season since 2018. Rattler discussed that at length, making it clear that one of the key factors in him choosing South Carolina to rebuild his own career was the rebuild he’s seen from afar under Beamer’s leadership.

“Really, going through this recruiting process with the transfer portal … coach Beamer was a big indicator that South Carolina’s doing something right,” Rattler said. “He’s turning this program around, doing a great thing up here.

“What’s impressive about this place is how it’s ran. It’s ran like an NFL type of facility. A lot of people would be surprised, it’s different from where I’m coming from. It’s more around the players to where guys aren’t burnt out. Guys are enjoying their time around the facilities, enjoying their time around the coaches and players. It’s just a great feeling. It’s a refreshing feeling.”

With Rattler’s transfer, there’s even more optimism that the build will continue. Rattler says he doesn’t feel as if there’s pressure in his new spot, but there will still be thousands more eyes on the program in the spring and fall when he finally takes live snaps.

That trickles down to recruiting, especially at quarterback where high-profile prospects such as 2023 four-star Dylan Lonergan and 2024 soon-to-be five-star Jadyn Davis – South Carolina’s top quarterback target in each class – are keeping tabs on how Rattler develops in an offensive system that is partially inspired by Sean Payton’s schemes when he was with the New Orleans Saints.

If Rattler performs this season, matching the potential he showed in his second season at Oklahoma and developing in Beamer and Marcus Satterfield’s system, it could guide this program in a major way. Not just in the short term, where he has the potential to be the star and leader in an impactful year two of the Beamer Era.

He could also be a huge long-term boon for the program to take its next step and shine a spotlight on Columbia that more top high school talent gravitates toward.

Rattler, of course, won’t be alone in that team-wide venture. He enters Columbia as part of a seven-man group that belongs in the upper echelon of top 2022 transfer classes in the country: Rattler, Christian Beal-Smith, Antwane Wells, Lovasea Carroll, Devonni Reed, Terrell Dawkins and Austin Stogner – Rattler’s former top tight end target at Oklahoma whose transfer the quarterback mentioned as another major reason he chose South Carolina.

On offense, receiver Josh Vann returns as the unit’s most experienced player, and Rattler will have the benefit of working under senior leader Eric Douglas as his center.

Rattler will also be paired with an offensive coordinator in Satterfield who caught heat for an underperforming unit that finished 11th or worse in the SEC in all eight major offensive categories: total points and points per game; total yards and yards per game, passing yards and passing yards per game; rushing yards and rushing yards per game.

So this is Satterfield’s second chance to show he deserves a place at the table. Makes for a kindred spirit with his new quarterback.

“Everybody in the country thinks you stink. Everybody in the country thinks I stink,” Satterfield said of what he told Rattler when the quarterback signed with the Gamecocks. “Let's go at this with the biggest possible chip on our shoulder.”

Rattler decided to ante up again. And if this fresh start is truly what he needed to prove he can still be a pro, those chips on him and Satterfield’s shoulders will get cashed out by season’s end.