FAB 2. SPENCE WANTS TO WIN NFL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Fresh off a dominant performance against Seattle in which he had 1.5 of the team’s six sacks of Russell Wilson and a forced fumble, Buccaneers defensive end Noah Spence acknowledged that Sunday was his coming out party and the rest of the league better take notice.

“I would think so,” said Spence, who is a man of few words.

The NFL did take notice, naming Spence the Defensive Player of the Month for November after notching 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in helping Tampa Bay win three straight games to improve to 6-5 on the season. Yet Spence has his eyes set on winning a different, more prestigious award – NFL Rookie of the Year.

“I would like to get that for sure,” Spence said. “That would be big for me to come out and do that – Rookie of the Year – and lead this rookie class. It would be a real blessing to do that.”

Bucs DE Noah Spence – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

To do that Spence must lead all rookies in sacks. With 5.5 on the year, Spence trails Jacksonville defensive end Yannick Ngakoue by half a sack and is ahead of Chicago linebacker Leonard Floyd by half a sack. Spence is a full sack ahead of former Ohio State teammate Joey Bosa, whom the Bucs will face on Sunday when they travel to San Diego. Spence is looking forward to the challenge of out-sacking Bosa, who has 4.5 sacks during his rookie campaign.

“That’s still my boy,” Spence said. “We’re good friends and we’ve been talking all week, and last week just encouraging each other. There’s for sure going to be competition, but it’s friendly competition.”

Bosa acknowledged the friendship on a conference call with Bucs beat writers on Wednesday.

“Yeah, we were just texting yesterday, just excited to see each other out there and hopefully both have a good game,” Bosa said. “Yeah, Noah, he’s a testament to turning your life around because he never let a bad decision of his turn him around and I’ve always known he’s a great kid and any coach that ever asked anything about him to me, I always gave him the best. But, I’m happy. I knew he would work as hard as he can to get into the position he’s in now and I’m really proud of him and I’m excited to see him out there this Sunday.”

Bosa was the third overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, while Spence slipped to the second round after he tested positive for ecstasy use in college and was kicked out of Ohio State. Since transferring to Eastern Kentucky where he recorded 22.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks, Spence has been clean and he’s spending his rookie season showing the teams that passed up on him they were wrong for doing so.

“I’m always trying to prove people wrong,” Spence said. “I’m always going to play with a chip on my shoulder.”

Speaking of shoulder, what’s impressive about Spence’s rookie season is that he is playing with a severe shoulder sprain that occurred in the Bucs’ loss to Denver in Week 4. Spence has had to wear a harness and has picked up 4.5 of his sacks despite wearing it.

Bucs DE Noah Spence – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“It was weird at first because when I’m in it I can’t move [my arm] backwards or out,” Spence said. “I didn’t know how I was going to be able to play, but they said, ‘You’re going to wear this harness or you’re not going to be able to play this season.’ I was like, ‘Alright, I’m wearing the harness.’ It was different wearing it, but now it’s easier.”

In fact, wearing the harness on his right shoulder has actually improved Spence’s tackling in the run game because he has to use proper technique with the limited range of motion. That improvement has caused him to become more of an every down defender each week.

In Sunday’s 14-5 victory over Seattle, Spence played a career-best 51 snaps, which was 81 percent of the plays. Even more impressive is how Spence has developed to the point where he can rush from either the left or the right side.

During training camp, Spence was strictly a right defensive end behind Robert Ayers, and the plan was to move Ayers inside on pass rushing downs and have Spence replace him outside. Yet after Jacquies Smith went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 1, Spence was moved to left defensive end for a few weeks.

“I’m pretty comfortable on both sides,” Spence said. “I like to switch it up whenever I can and keep the offensive linemen guessing. They can’t study who they are going against because they don’t know [where I’m going to line up].”

Where Spence’s 5.5 Sacks Have Come From
Week 2 at Arizona: 1 sack from left DE
Week 7 at San Francisco: 1 sack from right DE
Week 8 vs. Oakland: 1 sack, 1 forced fumble from left DE
Week 10 vs. Chicago: 1 sack, 1 forced fumble from left DE
Week 12 vs. Seattle: 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble from right DE

Of course playing both left and right defensive end means more study time for Spence, who has to watch film and learn the tendencies of an opponent’s left and right tackles. It’s a part of the game Spence has recently come to love.

“I do,” Spence said. “I used to not [like watching film], but now I don’t have any classes, so I might as well spend my time working on my craft.

Bucs DE Noah Spence – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Our coaches did all that (film study) for us in college. Now, we have to do it on our own. They give us our Surface (laptop) and we go watch film. We watch some here too, but not as much as we will on our own.”

Bosa isn’t surprised to see Spence have the type of success he’s enjoyed during his rookie season.

“I think just his work ethic and his motor [stand out],” Bosa said. “Noah can run literally for days, just training. I remember training, trying to keep up with him running and training and he’s always just first of the line working. He was a good guy to watch when I was young at Ohio State, but I knew if he kept his head on straight and kept working like he knows how to, he would make something of himself and he is doing just that. I am proud of him.”