Pass rusher Noah Spence took a roundabout route to the NFL. Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com didn’t project Spence as a first-round pick, though Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller rated him as the 13th-best prospect in this draft.
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“I had tears in my eyes”, Spence said, via FOX Sports in October 2015. “I’ve been around some of the great ones, Adam Vinatieri, Stephen Gostkowski”. The draft concludes with the final four rounds on Saturday. He’s just a DPR (designated pass rusher) right now. He was a dominant force at Ohio State, and went on to be a dominant force at Eastern Kentucky. Spence was stellar in his one season at the FCS level, registering 22.5 tackles for a loss and 11.5 sacks.
Spence is attempting to prove to National Football League teams that he has turned around his life since his troubles at Ohio State, and he wanted them to see all the clean test results.
Spence was a five-star prep recruit from McDevitt, an Under Armour All-American and the No. 9 player in the 2012 recruiting class, according to Rivals. “You can’t lie about it”, he said. “You’re never going to win every rep but you’ve always got to feel like you want to get there”. Still, for a franchise that intends to build through the draft – and which has done exactly that in two previous offensive-minded drafts – those positions were still high on the Bucs’ wish list entering the weekend.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft pick Vernon Hargreaves, left, smiles as he sits with head coach Dirk Koetter during a news conference Friday, April 29, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
Spence showed his full range of speed, power and electric pass-rush moves again at the Senior Bowl, which helped him rocket back into the early-round draft conversation.
Spence went from an All-Big Ten defensive end with eight sacks and 141/2 tackles for losses in 2013 to being banned from the school he loved for twice failing drug tests issued by the conference.
The Buccaneers made Spence one of the 30 players they were allowed to bring to One Buccaneer Place for a pre-draft visit.
At Eastern Kentucky. Spence was arrested last May on charges of alcohol intoxication and second-degree disorderly conduct, but they were expunged from his record after he participated in community service. In the end, the Bucs got their man for the second night in a row and Spence was just as pleased with the outcome as was the team.
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“It was where I was going, the party scene and what I was doing with it”, Spence said.
