Spencer Rattler’s ‘awkward’ QB situation at Oklahoma is a familiar tale

A quarterback of one of the country’s leading quarterback factories, one of the nation’s top recruits, was yanked from the lineup and replaced with a young firebrand who rallied the team.

“It’s uncomfortable, it’s awkward, it’s unfortunate,” he said on Monday.

We’re not talking Spencer Rattler — at least not yet. But Max Browne can feel the similarities in what he went through at USC in 2016, when he was benched after three games and watched Sam Darnold reel off nine straight wins. So he knows why a reporter is calling, and yes, he can absolutely relate to what Rattler is going through at Oklahoma right now, with freshman Caleb Williams supplanting him.

“I think that’s probably one of the worst parts about the quarterback position is obviously only one guy plays, which is not an issue at any other position,” Browne said.

The No. 20 overall recruit in the 2013 ESPN 300, Browne was ranked as either the No. 1 or No. 2 quarterback by every major recruiting service. As a 6-foot-5, 230-pound star at Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington, near Seattle, Browne won two state titles, two Gatorade Player of the Year awards and broke the all-time Washington passing record, throwing for nearly 13,000 yards with 146 touchdown passes. He picked USC over Oklahoma.

In 2016, he was named the Trojans’ starter by then-coach Clay Helton and, like Rattler, was tabbed as a team captain. After three games in which the offense struggled and USC started 1-2 with losses to Alabama and Stanford, Browne was benched for Darnold, a redshirt freshman who then lit a fire under the Trojans.

Rattler, who was the No. 29 recruit in the 2019 ESPN 300, carried much of the same expectations when he chose Oklahoma — over USC — after breaking Arizona’s state passing record, throwing for more than 11,000 yards with 116 TDs. Like Browne, in his first year as a starter, the Sooners…