H
HardRightEdge
Guest
We talked about Spence briefly in the Packer Visits thread, where I betrayed complete ignorance of this player. I decided to take a closer looker at this player to see why the Packers might have some interest.
First, here's a detailed retelling of how he got booted from the Big Ten followed by his resurrection at Eastern Kentucky:
http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...ky-colonels-ecstasy-addiction-comeback-102015
In summary, he got booted from the Big Ten for multiple positive Ecstasy tests. Evidently he was quite the party animal with an "untouchable" complex. On the other hand, there are some encouraging things noted in that Fox piece, particularly his insistence that he be placed on every drug test list while at Eastern Kentucky. He's stayed clear for a year, making him less of a risk than, for instance, a transcendental idiot or outright addict who gets busted at the Combine.
The alcohol incident suggests Spence has not entirely given up his partying ways. Was it really just 2 glasses of wine? Or is alcohol his new drug of choice? That would certainly be an area to be investigated by anybody having an interest in him.
So, what kind of player is he? On talent alone, he's a 1st. round pick. Here's the tape of his Kentucky game last season:
He plays mostly hand-in-the-ground 4-3 DE in that tape, his leading position projection for the NFL. As we know, players of that type who are accomplished edge rushers also project as possible 3-4 OLB edge rushers in the NFL (as with Perry), while presenting a risk as to how he'll convert to a stand-up player (as seen with Perry). Spence shows snaps standing up on long yardage plays where he's allowed to sell out on the pass, and looks good doing it.
What I really like in this tape is that Spence is not just a burst-and-dip edge rusher, though he's got a fair amount of that. He shows nice hand work getting off blocks. He's got a variety of moves. He's fairly disruptive here despite getting chipped and double-teamed with some regularity.
His college coaches laud his coachability, no small thing, and the guy must have some native intelligence having been All-Academic Big Ten.
The only question that remains is how far does he have to fall to compensate for the risk. I don't think it will be very far. If he got to the bottom of the 3rd. round and the Packers grabbed him, I would not cry, and might even cheer.
Again being clean of drug issues for a year under more scrutiny than the mandatory tests suggests he's not your typical doper. The alcohol issue would be my chief concern; if the Packers have more than a casual interest they'll dig down on that.
First, here's a detailed retelling of how he got booted from the Big Ten followed by his resurrection at Eastern Kentucky:
http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...ky-colonels-ecstasy-addiction-comeback-102015
In summary, he got booted from the Big Ten for multiple positive Ecstasy tests. Evidently he was quite the party animal with an "untouchable" complex. On the other hand, there are some encouraging things noted in that Fox piece, particularly his insistence that he be placed on every drug test list while at Eastern Kentucky. He's stayed clear for a year, making him less of a risk than, for instance, a transcendental idiot or outright addict who gets busted at the Combine.
The alcohol incident suggests Spence has not entirely given up his partying ways. Was it really just 2 glasses of wine? Or is alcohol his new drug of choice? That would certainly be an area to be investigated by anybody having an interest in him.
So, what kind of player is he? On talent alone, he's a 1st. round pick. Here's the tape of his Kentucky game last season:
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He plays mostly hand-in-the-ground 4-3 DE in that tape, his leading position projection for the NFL. As we know, players of that type who are accomplished edge rushers also project as possible 3-4 OLB edge rushers in the NFL (as with Perry), while presenting a risk as to how he'll convert to a stand-up player (as seen with Perry). Spence shows snaps standing up on long yardage plays where he's allowed to sell out on the pass, and looks good doing it.
What I really like in this tape is that Spence is not just a burst-and-dip edge rusher, though he's got a fair amount of that. He shows nice hand work getting off blocks. He's got a variety of moves. He's fairly disruptive here despite getting chipped and double-teamed with some regularity.
His college coaches laud his coachability, no small thing, and the guy must have some native intelligence having been All-Academic Big Ten.
The only question that remains is how far does he have to fall to compensate for the risk. I don't think it will be very far. If he got to the bottom of the 3rd. round and the Packers grabbed him, I would not cry, and might even cheer.
Again being clean of drug issues for a year under more scrutiny than the mandatory tests suggests he's not your typical doper. The alcohol issue would be my chief concern; if the Packers have more than a casual interest they'll dig down on that.