Spencer Rattler opens Oklahoma's season behind Jalen Hurts, Tanner Mordecai at quarterback

Oklahoma Sooners football head coach Lincoln Riley described the quarterback competition between Jalen Hurts, Tanner Mordecai and Spencer Rattler as one of the "closest" he has had since being in Norman, Oklahoma, on Tuesday night when he met with the media.

On Monday, Riley named Hurts, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma, his starting quarterback.

On Tuesday night, he said that Mordecai, a redshirt freshman, would be the backup.

That leaves Spencer Rattler, a freshman from Phoenix Pinnacle High, as the third string quarterback to start the season.

Rattler is a highly touted recruit out of Arizona who has been featured on the Netflix show "QB1: Beyond the Lights."

"Tanner Mordecai did a phenomenal job, made a lot of big plays during camp," Riley told the media. "Spencer Rattler showed early control and playmaking ability that’s pretty rare for someone his age. You certainly get excited about those two and the bright futures that they both have for this 2019 team and beyond." 

Oklahoma opens its season Sept. 1 against Houston.

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Rattler was the No. 1 rated pro-style quarterback in the country. But he didn't join the Sooners in the spring like Hurts.

"The decision to not early enroll was my decision," said Rattler on Netflix's "QB1: Beyond the Lights." "I just want to have fun my senior year. My family, her, my friends, everybody I love, I want to stay a little longer."

Hurts replaces Kyler Murray, who was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft and won the Heisman Trophy. Murray was preceeded by Baker Mayfield, who also won the Heisman Trophy before getting drafted by the Cleveland Browns. 

"I just thought (Hurts) was just slightly better here as it went on," Riley told the media. "Probably the closest one we’ve had since I’ve been at Oklahoma, I would say for sure. Maybe had one other in my career as far as how close it was." 

How did Mordecai and Rattler handle not winning the starting quarterback job?

Riley addressed the media about it.

“It’s always one fun conversation and a few not-fun conversations—that’s how those go, but they all handled it well. They certainly did. Tanner (Mordecai) handled it well. He’s probably more motivated than he was before, which if you’re a true competitor, that’s what you’re going to do, and I would expect nothing less of him and I feel the same way kind of about Spencer (Rattler), too. Spencer’s a little newer to the situation but he’s very very eager and excited. Those guys are team guys and supportive and I think that quarterback room is very near, but you’ve seen it really start to come together, so they are ready to support Jalen (Hurts) and also work hard and be ready for when their time comes, because we never know. We’ve had good quarterback play and guys that have stayed healthy—you don’t always have that combination. I fully expect that we will, but you got to be ready. This game presents all kinds of stuff. I know we’ve got three guys in there that no doubt can go play and play extremely well right now."