Athletic Profile
Height: 5095
Weight: 201
Arm Length: 30 3/4”
40 Time: 4.54*
10 Yard Split: 1.57*
Vertical: 39”
Broad Jump: 1005
Relative Athletic Score: 7.52
* Indicates Recorded At Pro Day
Statistics
2022: 1,586 YARDS / 19 TDs / 6.9 YPA / 4.55 YCO/A / 251 RECY
2021: 863 YARDS / 9 TDs / 6.7 YPA / 4.50 YCO/A / 145 RECY
Pros
Speed
Elusiveness
Acceleration Ability
Pass Catching
Patiently let his blocks develop
Cons
Power
Size
Pass Blocking
Gets Bounce Happy
Summary
Tyjae Spears was a lightly recruited 3 star recruit out of Louisiana who burst onto the college football scene in 2022 with over 1,500 yards. Spears is a burner in the open field who is a threat to score whenever he touches the ball. Easy acceleration and tremendous long speed gives him tons of big play ability. A smaller back he lacks the power or leg drive to be a dominant in between the tackles runner. He struggles to drive piles and to make a difference in short yardage. Spears makes up for his lack of power with patient running and tremendous short area burst that allows him to hit holes with very little daylight. Spears is accustomed to winning with speed at the collegiate level and it has created a bad habit of bouncing too quickly. A habit he will have to shake at the next level where his speed will bail him out less. As a runner Spears displays excellent footwork with little wasted movement, this allows him to change direction on a dime. Spears is excellent at reducing the strike zone of his body for defenders, when coupled with his balance in the open field he is a difficult tackle. However when defenders are able to square Spears up he struggles to shrug off tackles. Smooth feet and excellent balance gives Spears plus pass catching ability. He has soft hands and quickly transfers himself from receiver to runner. Spears does struggle with his lack of size and poor technique when in pass protection. Despite his plus receiving attributes his third down impact is more of a project at this point until he can clean up his blocking. Spears is one of the most explosive and productive backs in this class. After a standout Senior Bowl he is firmly on Day 2 radar for NFL teams as an home run threat back with significant three down upside. He projects to be a starting caliber back that at worst adds some serious juice to a committee.
Grade: 6.12 - Mid to Late Second Round Grade (Potential Starter)
Games Watched: Cincinnati (2022), UCF (2022), USC (2022)