Ex-Tiger Spears gives NFL players good name
By SCOTT RABALAIS
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Jun 27, 2007 - Page: 1C
Page 1 of 2 SINGLE PAGE VIEW
No one will ever mistake Marcus Spears for Adam “Pacman” Jones.
Jones, a defensive back, is the poster child for all that is troubling about the NFL’s image.
Spears, a defensive end, is the opposite. One of the good guys. A guy who you would want your son to grow up to be like.
A recent visit back home to Baton Rouge found the former LSU All-American and current Dallas Cowboy wading through a steady stream of cell phone calls as he tried to field interview questions and finish the rest of his shrimp salad at a Baton Rouge restaurant.
Mini camp behind him, Spears’ primary focus for the short term is on the charitable foundation that bears his name.
This weekend is a big one for the Marcus Spears Foundation. Saturday there’s a free football camp at the LSU Field House (registration ended June 20). The next day, there’s a $125 per man golf tournament at the new Greystone Country Club in Denham Springs.
Money from the golf tournament will be funneled into the Spears’ foundation, which works to benefit single mothers and underprivileged children.
“It’s kind of in those early stages” Spears said of his foundation, which does work here and in Dallas. “It’s our first year. We’ll start doing more and extending more.”
Though he’s entering his third year with the Cowboys, Spears didn’t crank up his foundation right away. Characteristic of the man, like finding the best route to the quarterback, he wanted to first figure out what was the best way to help people.
“It took me a minute,” he said. “I wanted it to be right. To be organized. I didn’t want it to be just another fly-by-night organization. We’re really making an effort to have things in line that we can do annually. This golf tournament and football camp will be annual every year in Baton Rouge.”
Spears’ offseason has been bookended by the thrill of new life and the shocking sadness of sudden death.
In February, Spears and his wife Aiysha Smith, the former Lady Tigers basketball center, welcomed their first child. A daughter, she could be LSU’s earliest “commitment” ever.
“LSU’s got first dibs on her,” Spears said, his face spreading into a father’s loving smile. “All the other colleges can wait and see what she wants to do.
“It’s been great. Having a child changes your life totally. We’ve been having a lot of fun with her.”
Spears, like many of his former LSU teammates, was laid low by the drowning death of former Tiger Marquise Hill. Hill’s body was pulled out of Lake Pontchartrain on May 28 after he fell off a jet ski while out riding on the lake the night before. Hill wasn’t wearing a life preserver.
“To get that call humbled a lot of guys,” said Spears, sounding wise beyond his 24 years.
“You get a sad feeling and you get mad at the same time. I get mad Marquise didn’t have a life. But you never know what God’s will is. It’s out of your control. We live on but keep him in our memory.”
Spears is optimistic he can better his performance of his first two seasons with the Cowboys. As a rookie in 2005 he had 31 tackles with 1‰ sacks. Last season he had 45 tackles with one sack. In neither season has he missed a game.
What Spears has missed as a pro is the kind of defense he played at LSU. He believes it’s the kind of defense new coach Wade Phillips has brought with him to Dallas.
“I’m so happy about the new coach,” Spears said.
“Being in Dallas the last two years the defensive scheme was not really best for what I do. I’m not that type of player. The defense Wade Phillips is implementing is like what I was doing here.”
What he did at LSU was help the Tigers win the 2003 BCS national championship, his interception return for a touchdown off quarterback Jason White providing what proved to be the winning points.
Could a title been soon in coming for Dallas? Having good guys like Marcus Spears can’t hurt.
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Jun 27, 2007 - Page: 1C
Page 1 of 2 SINGLE PAGE VIEW
No one will ever mistake Marcus Spears for Adam “Pacman” Jones.
Jones, a defensive back, is the poster child for all that is troubling about the NFL’s image.
Spears, a defensive end, is the opposite. One of the good guys. A guy who you would want your son to grow up to be like.
A recent visit back home to Baton Rouge found the former LSU All-American and current Dallas Cowboy wading through a steady stream of cell phone calls as he tried to field interview questions and finish the rest of his shrimp salad at a Baton Rouge restaurant.
Mini camp behind him, Spears’ primary focus for the short term is on the charitable foundation that bears his name.
This weekend is a big one for the Marcus Spears Foundation. Saturday there’s a free football camp at the LSU Field House (registration ended June 20). The next day, there’s a $125 per man golf tournament at the new Greystone Country Club in Denham Springs.
Money from the golf tournament will be funneled into the Spears’ foundation, which works to benefit single mothers and underprivileged children.
“It’s kind of in those early stages” Spears said of his foundation, which does work here and in Dallas. “It’s our first year. We’ll start doing more and extending more.”
Though he’s entering his third year with the Cowboys, Spears didn’t crank up his foundation right away. Characteristic of the man, like finding the best route to the quarterback, he wanted to first figure out what was the best way to help people.
“It took me a minute,” he said. “I wanted it to be right. To be organized. I didn’t want it to be just another fly-by-night organization. We’re really making an effort to have things in line that we can do annually. This golf tournament and football camp will be annual every year in Baton Rouge.”
Spears’ offseason has been bookended by the thrill of new life and the shocking sadness of sudden death.
In February, Spears and his wife Aiysha Smith, the former Lady Tigers basketball center, welcomed their first child. A daughter, she could be LSU’s earliest “commitment” ever.
“LSU’s got first dibs on her,” Spears said, his face spreading into a father’s loving smile. “All the other colleges can wait and see what she wants to do.
“It’s been great. Having a child changes your life totally. We’ve been having a lot of fun with her.”
Spears, like many of his former LSU teammates, was laid low by the drowning death of former Tiger Marquise Hill. Hill’s body was pulled out of Lake Pontchartrain on May 28 after he fell off a jet ski while out riding on the lake the night before. Hill wasn’t wearing a life preserver.
“To get that call humbled a lot of guys,” said Spears, sounding wise beyond his 24 years.
“You get a sad feeling and you get mad at the same time. I get mad Marquise didn’t have a life. But you never know what God’s will is. It’s out of your control. We live on but keep him in our memory.”
Spears is optimistic he can better his performance of his first two seasons with the Cowboys. As a rookie in 2005 he had 31 tackles with 1‰ sacks. Last season he had 45 tackles with one sack. In neither season has he missed a game.
What Spears has missed as a pro is the kind of defense he played at LSU. He believes it’s the kind of defense new coach Wade Phillips has brought with him to Dallas.
“I’m so happy about the new coach,” Spears said.
“Being in Dallas the last two years the defensive scheme was not really best for what I do. I’m not that type of player. The defense Wade Phillips is implementing is like what I was doing here.”
What he did at LSU was help the Tigers win the 2003 BCS national championship, his interception return for a touchdown off quarterback Jason White providing what proved to be the winning points.
Could a title been soon in coming for Dallas? Having good guys like Marcus Spears can’t hurt.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:02 PM
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