Jim Mora: Start your 2021 Heisman lists with Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler
There’s no doubt that Oklahoma sophomore Spencer Rattler is already viewed as a frontrunner for the 2021 Heisman Trophy.
Playing for Lincoln Riley can do that for a quarterback.
But it carries more weight when a former head coach says it.
Jim Mora Jr. — also an analyst for ESPN and now Sports Illustrated — told SI’s AllTrojans.com reporter Claudette Montana Pattison this week that Rattler is at the top of his list of Heisman contenders at this stage of the offseason.
“Started this past season a little bit slow,” Mora said, “but showed a great skill set and improved as the year went on. And at the end of the year, I think, was one of the better players in college football.”
Rattler threw game-ending interceptions in losses to Kansas State and Iowa State and suffered two turnovers against Texas before he was briefly benched.
He came back into the Red River Rivalry after halftime and rallied the Sooners to a four-overtime victory, then over the final seven games threw 15 touchdowns with just two interceptions.
Rattler completed 67.5 percent of his passes in his first year as a starter with a 172.6 passer efficiency rating (eighth-best in school history and second among freshmen behind Sam Bradford's mark of 176.5). He averaged 275.5 yards per game through the air, threw 28 touchdowns with seven interceptions and also rushed for six TDs.
“His talent was evident from the second he took the field,” Mora said. “He made great throws, he could run the ball, he could extend plays. But early in the year, he was careless with the football. Later in the year, he got that figured out.
“And really, that was just a function of maturing as a player at a school like Oklahoma, under a guy like Lincoln Riley. And he was spectacular late.”
Riley's last three quarterbacks all ended up in New York City as Heisman Trophy finalists. Baker Mayfield won the award in 2017, and Kyler Murray followed up by winning it in 2018. Jalen Hurts transferred to OU from Alabama in 2019 and was the Heisman runner-up.
Mora played defensive back at Washington and was an NFL assistant coach from 1989-2003. He was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2004-06, was a Seattle assistant from 2007-08 and was the Seahawks head man in 2009.
He also served as head coach at UCLA from 2012-17 and went 46-30 during his time in Westwood.
Mora also ID'd Iowa State's Brock Purdy and Alabama's Bryce Young as early Heisman frontrunners.
Mora drew on his years of experience to come up with a comparison for Rattler’s playing style.
“The way he can contort his body to throw the ball reminds me of a guy like Patrick Mahomes,” Mora said. “I think we’re all gonna be talking about Spencer Rattler (in 2021). I think we talked about him this year — mostly good, some negative early. But I think, in my mind, he’s the next ‘best quarterback in the country.’ ”
