Amid Tyjae Spears ACL concerns, former Tennessee football captain says believe in Titans draft pick
To Tyjae Spears, juking kids out of their shoes comes natural.
When Spears was young, growing up in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, he had a bizarre habit. He liked to swipe the basketball from the neighborhood court. One day Markez Spears, Tyjae's older brother by six years and six days, saw Tyjae taking the ball. Markez's friend, one of the fastest kids in their grade, tried to chase Tyjae down.
The older kid never had a chance.
"He put a move on him so nice and the dude kind of slid," Markez Spears told The Tennessean. "He made the move and looked back at me and I just said ‘Ooooo wee.’ From that day on I just knew he was going to be something special."
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The basketball incident doesn't appear on Spears' highlight reel. But plenty of similar moves do. Natural escapability is a big reason why the Tennessee Titans invested their third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Spears, the Tulane product who ran for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns a year ago.
Questions abound about Spears. At 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, he's on the smaller side for an NFL running back. But on top of that, Spears has torn the ACL in his right knee twice. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on draft night that Spears has arthritis and no ACL in his right knee, labeling him a potential "one-contract" player given the rate at which his knee could degrade.
The Titans clearly felt Spears was worth the risk. His brother knows why.
"To be honest, it was my first even hearing about not having an ACL," Markez Spears said. "It just showed from last season, if he didn’t have an ACL, he did a heckuva job showing he’s still able to do everything he’s able to do."
Tyjae Spears' journey to the Titans
Hank Tierney called everyone he could. No one bit.
Tierney is a Louisiana legend, a winner of more than 300 games who coached standouts like Ryan Clark and Mickey and Vance Joseph. He tried to cash in every favor he'd ever earned to get Spears to a big college. But Alabama didn't bite. Nor did Arkansas or Kentucky. Not Southern Miss or Texas San Antonio. Not even LSU, the school right up the road that had Mickey Joseph himself on its coaching staff.
Spears missed his freshman season with his first ACL tear. And he missed most of his junior season with a high ankle sprain. The recruiting industry didn't know much about Spears before his senior year. But Tierney and the staff at Ponchatoula High School knew Spears was special.
"When he was a freshman we were fighting over where he would play," Tierney said. "The DC wanted him to play corner. The receiver coach wanted him to play receiver. I wanted him to play quarterback. And the running back coach wanted him to play running back. He would’ve been the best at any position."
By senior year, Spears did a little of everything. He ran for 920 yards and nine touchdowns. He caught 48 passes for 880 yards and nine more scores.
At this point, Tierney was "standing on his head" trying to get schools to notice his star player. One of the few people who trusted his judgment was Knoxville native and Vols football legend J.J. McCleskey, an assistant coach at Tulane.
"You put the tape in, you watch him practice, you go through the recruiting process, just see how he handled things," McCleskey said. "A hard worker. In practice he’d be the first person to do sprints. You always saw him give his effort. He had the ACL injury in high school but it didn’t affect his mindset."
Taking tests and 'Teflon Tough'
Beyond Tulane, Spears' only major offer was to play at Kansas State. Tulane's academic qualifications are stricter than Kansas State's. His ACT score was good enough for Kansas State, but he'd have to take the test again and improve his score to play at Tulane.
"The easy way out is to go to Kansas State and not even worry about the ACT anymore," McCleskey said. "He had an NCAA qualifying test score. He had the GPA. He goes to Kansas State and it’s over with. But he wanted a challenge. He wanted to go to Tulane and didn’t let that stop him. When he called me and told me the test score, I really knew what we were getting at Tulane."
That aspect of Spears' personality hasn't changed. Tierney and his wife took Spears out to lunch the week before the AAC championship game. Spears nervously checked the time over and over again, anxious he was going to be late for a class.
Spears has acted that way as long as Tierney's known him.
"When you’re a freshman and all of the sudden you’re hurt and the streets are calling and you can’t play the whole year, it’s like ‘Whoa,’" Tierney said. "But he stuck it out. I can remember him coming to the games on crutches and still being involved. Even as a freshman staying involved even though he couldn’t play. It’s truly a success story."
McCleskey and Spears have a saying. They call each other "Teflon Tough." McCleskey went from walk-on to Tennessee team captain to eight-year NFL veteran. Even with the injury history, McCleskey said he foresees an 8-10 year NFL career for Spears too.
It's what people like them do.
"The meaning of Teflon Tough is being in situations and being able to get himself out of those situations," McCleskey said. "He’s Teflon Tough. He really is. He’s Teflon Tough. Y’all are getting somebody that’s special."
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans gambled on Tyjae Spears in NFL draft. Here's why
