Former South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is set to make the first start of his NFL career on Sunday afternoon, it was announced on Wednesday afternoon by New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen.

Rattler, who has been the Saints’ emergency third quarterback in the first five games of the year, will take over for Derek Carr who is out with an oblique strain he suffered in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Allen detailed the decision to give the starting nod to Rattler for Sunday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Spencer Rattler will be the quarterback for this game,” Allen said. “We talked a lot as a staff about what we felt like was the best thing for us and gave us the best chance to win the game. That was the decision that we made. We are excited about him getting an opportunity to go in there and we will let him go play and see what he can do.”

Rattler donned the garnet and black the past two seasons after starting his collegiate career at Oklahoma. In his two years in Columbia, Rattler threw for 6,212 yards and 37 touchdowns. Rattler was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the No. 150 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

In his five years of college football, Rattler threw for 10,807 yards and 77 touchdowns in three seasons at Oklahoma and two at South Carolina. With the Saints’ selection of Rattler, he became the first South Carolina quarterback selected in the NFL Draft since the Denver Broncos drafted Todd Ellis in 1990.

In a press conference during training camp, Saints’ wide receiver Chris Olave detailed how impressed he was with Rattler.

“He is real talented,” Olave said. “That is the first thing that I saw from him. His arm talent is off the charts. He is a real natural feel out there. He is going to be real good. I want to see him in action but from my first impression, he is going to be a real good player.”

Kickoff between the Saints and Buccaneers on Sunday is set for 1 p.m. and will be televised on FOX.