Tyjae Spears

Pos: RB

School: Tulane

Ht. 5’10″ 

Wt. 201

Games Watched: UCF, SMU, Cincinnati 

One Liner: Shifty running back who wins with change of direction, speed and processing

Strengths: 

  • Very good change of direction. Spears is a bouncy running back who can make cuts effectively and smoothly in case his initial read misses. He is able to cut back and attack new open holes and can change his direction on a dime with an effective redirection of his body weight. 
  • Very good long speed. Spears is a fast running back who can play well in the open field and has the long speed to break big on plays where he has a clear hole. Spears attacks gaps with this speed and has the acceleration to blow by defenders trying to take care of their gaps. 
  • Very good contact balance. Spears worked very well after contact, and generated roughly ⅔’s of his yardage total on the ground after contact. He plays with a twitchy style that can also absorb blows, keeping himself upright and fighting for extra yardage. 
  • Good processor. Spears is a solid processor and understands zone concepts well enough to show a fluid transition from the mesh point and into his gaps. He doesn’t show much indecisiveness and looks confident in what he is taking, and if not, he has the ability to bounce out and create space for himself. 

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate build. Spears has solid numbers in terms of frame, but his body composition makes him look a bit smaller than he actually is listed at. He may not be able to replicate this sort of contact balance and battle for extra yardage at the next level where he will face better wrap up tacklers and harder hitters. 
  • Adequate passing game threat. Spears didn’t generate much damage in the passing game, and his size doesn’t necessarily guarantee being a great pass blocker either at the next level. Perhaps the scheme could open up opportunities for Spears, but his modus operandi is fully on the ground as of right now. 

Overall Assessment:  Tyjae Spears is a shifty running back who makes a living out of breaking tackles and fighting for extra yardage. Spears plays with excellent contact balance, and combines his ability to stay up with above average change of direction and speed. Spears has the potential to be a big play machine on the ground at the next level, and his change of direction allows for him to improvise off poor blocking and potentially finding a crease. Spears’ has the functional processing skills to be a viable zone runner, and I think teams could pick and choose how they want to run with Spears at the next level. He could look to get stronger, and become more involved in the passing game, but these are things that could be worked out once he hits the pros. 

Scheme Fit: Scheme versatile runner

Pick Projection: Day 2

Grade: 6.30