FAB 3. ROOKIE SPENCE IS A FOOTBALL JUNKIE
One of the reasons why rookie defensive end Noah Spence fell to the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft was because of his prior use of the drug Ecstasy at Ohio State that caused head coach Urban Meyer to kick him off the Buckeyes football team a year prior to winning a national championship. Spence transferred to Eastern Kentucky where he set school records for 22.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks, drawing comparisons to NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller.

Spence passed a slew of drug tests and said he was never hooked on Ecstasy and that he used it recreationally. What Spence has always been hooked on is football, and when that was taken away from him at Ohio State it forced the 6-foot-2, 251-pound pass rusher to get his priorities straight.

Spence is a football junkie.

Bucs DE Noah Spence – Photo courtesy of EKU

“You could say that,” Spence said. “I love watching football. I’m just trying to do the little stuff I need to do to get better every day. I always like watching the film and trying to watch other people that play the game.”

Spence’s talent aside, what makes the rookie special is his passion for the game, according to Bucs defensive end Jacquies Smith, who is sidelined this year with a torn ACL.

“We all knew he had the talent watching him on the field,” Smith said. “The thing about Noah is that this guy lives and breathes football. If a game is on, he’s calling you telling you about it. He’ll ask whom he should watch. He wants to know everything. He wants to watch it and be around it. That’s impressive for a young guy to want to live and breathe football. You get some guys who are talented, but they don’t get the mental side of the game. He does, and it’s at such an early age. That’s the impressive thing about him.”

Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy agrees that it’s Spence’s attitude about football that stands out.

“He loves the game,” McCoy said. “He jokes around and likes to have a good time, but when he’s out there on the field he takes it serious. He plays really hard. He’s developing as a rusher. The injury set him back a little bit, but one thing I told him was that I’ve had a shoulder injury.

The Bucs beat the Panthers on MNF – Photo by: Getty Images

“Last year I had to play a whole season with it. One thing you can’t do is think to yourself, ‘I have a shoulder injury.’ You have to play as if you don’t. You may be hindered, but you can’t play as if you are. That’s the only way to fight through the pain. He took my advice and I saw how he started his first practice back and how he finished. He just goes really hard. He was determined not to miss Monday Night Football – his first one – during his rookie year. He’s going to consistently get better. This is a good test for him because now he has to learn to deal with something mentally at an early age and that will help him later on.”

Spence injured his right shoulder against Denver and many thought he would be out some time. But Spence agreed to play through the pain and wear a harness that limits the movement of his right shoulder. Already down Smith and veteran defensive end Robert Ayers, the Bucs started William Gholston and rookie DaVonte Lambert at defensive end against Carolina and also played fellow rookies Channing Ward and Spence.

“I just didn’t want to miss the game,” Spence said. “We were down a few guys on the defensive line and I knew I could contribute – even if it was going to be a little bit. It wasn’t so much about Monday Night Football as it was about being there for the team.”

“To get Noah out last week was a big, big surprise,” said Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Mike Smith. “If you were to tell me on Monday or Tuesday that he was going to line up – it talks about his toughness. We’re playing him both on the left and right side. It depends on what the huddle call is and depends on who else is in the ball game – if you guys notice, we’re flipping our defensive ends. It is a big difference. You get to go against different types of tackles when you’re rushing. You get to go against some right tackles and you get to go against some left tackles and there is a difference in this league, we all know that.

“I like his toughness. For him to come back from that injury says a whole lot about his ability to put things behind him, from a physical standpoint. Because that thing was not down and our first report was not good, so he’s been able to overcome that. And we’re looking forward to seeing him get more and more snaps, as long as he stays healthy.”

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

Spence played 21 snaps against the Panthers and that doubled that number last week at San Francisco where he recorded his second sack of the season on the last play of the game. Spence now has three tackles, three quarterback pressures and two sacks, which ranks second on the team behind McCoy’s three, in addition to a pass breakup.

Spence said he owes a lot of his early season success to McCoy’s tutelage.

“He’s helped me a lot,” Spence said. “He’s keeping me in my Bible and helping me get closer to God off the field and helping me keep my head up on the field. He teaches me little things. He’s been instrumental in my development as a player and as a man.”

“He was telling me to play like my shoulder wasn’t hurt, and to know that I have extra protection on it. It helped me to go out there and play with more confidence and know that with the protection it’s not going to get hurt any more. It’s going to hinder my movement, but it’s not going to get any worse. Don’t play scared.”

Despite the shoulder injury and the harness, Spence’s 42 plays – out of 70 total plays by San Francisco – was a career high for the Eastern Kentucky product.

“I have to wear my harness and do stuff to keep it loose, but it’s doing better,” Spence said of his shoulder. “I can use it a lot more. There’s a different punch because your arm doesn’t move the way it normally would. You have to learn how to maneuver without almost having your right arm. It’s different, but I feel like I’m getting used to it. I have to wear it for the rest of the season.”

On Sunday, Spence showed that he could still make plays despite being hindered. And he continued to show his love for the game of football playing through injury to sack one of the fastest and most elusive quarterbacks in the NFL.