Tyjae Spears Scouting Report and NFL Draft Player Profile

Tyjae Spears Scouting Report Measurements

40-Yard Dash Time – 4.40

5’10” / 195 lbs.

Tyjae Spears Draft Profile

Tyjae Spears is a former 3-star recruit out of Ponchatoula High School in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. According to his 247sports recruiting profile, Spears was the 44th best player in the state of Louisiana. He was also ranked as the 65th-best running back in the nation. While achieving this status, Spears was offered scholarships to 5 Division I programs. These schools include Texas State, Southern Miss, Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese State, and Tulane. Only one month after receiving an offer from Tulane, he decided to become a member of the Green Waves.

During his 2019 season, Spears only played in four games. In those four games, he had 32 rushes for 192 yards and 1 touchdown. He also had 5 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown. In 2020, Spears only played in three games because he experienced a season-ending injury. In those three games, he ran the ball 37 times for 274 yards and 2 touchdowns while racking up 30 total receiving yards as well. The next season, Spears had an incredible bounce-back season following the injury. In this season, he had 129 rushing attempts for 863 yards and 9 touchdowns. He also had 19 receptions for 145 yards. Finally, Spears ended his career at Tulane with a bang. He ran the ball 229 times for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns. This includes a 205 rushing yard and 4 touchdown performance against USC in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Strengths

Athleticism

When watching Spears on film, the first thing that stands out is his athleticism. After he finds a hole in the offensive line, he has an incredible burst to quickly reach his top speed. When he reaches top speed, there are not many defenders who are able to catch him. Spears is also light on his feet which makes him very elusive and hard to bring down in the open field. His lateral agility allows him to stop on a dime and quickly change direction often leaving defenders in the dust. If a defender is able to make some contact with Spears, he shows good balance to shed the tackle and fight for a few extra yards.

Patience

In the backfield, Spears shows a lot of patience allowing his offensive line to properly execute their blocks. While watching his offensive line execute their blocks, he does a good job of looking for a lane to run through. Fortunately for him, since he has a slim frame, he doesn’t need much space to work with. If he is not able to find an inside lane, he uses his quickness and lateral agility to cut to the outside. Once he gets to the outside, he is like a ball rolling down a hill because he is almost impossible to stop.

Yards After Contact

Although Spears is a relatively smaller back, he is good at fighting for yards after contact. As I briefly mentioned earlier, Spears is good at maintaining balance through contact allowing him to keep the play alive. If the defender is able to hold onto Spears, he does a good job of using his balance and lower body strength to gain a few extra yards before being brought down.

Passing Game

Tyjae Spears is one of the most impressive receiving backs in the nation. Although the ball is not thrown to him very often, he is very good when he is given a chance. On screen passes, Spears does a good job of making catches with his hands and not relying on his body to help make the catch. After making the catch, he does a good job of squaring his hips upfield. This allows him to use his athleticism to its full potential. When he takes off down the field, he uses his burst to quickly reach his insane top speed. He is also good at changing directions quickly making him very difficult to bring down in the open field.

Weaknesses

Toughness

The biggest concern that I have surrounding Spears’ game is his toughness and ability to consistently fight through contact. When Spears has the ball in his hands, I rarely ever see him drop his shoulder to gain a few yards. Not having the ability to do so has limited his effectiveness on inside runs. When watching his film, you will rarely see Spears run it up the gap and drop his shoulder for a few yards. Instead, he will cut to the outside and solely rely on his athleticism to rack up yards.

Frame

Another concern that I have is how his slim frame will affect his future. Although Spears isn’t the smallest back in college football, he has a very thin frame. This can make him a liability when he needs to block. His adequate size does not allow him to hold his ground against rushers. By not being able to hold his ground, the defender can easily shed his block and apply pressure on the QB.

Tyjae Spears Draft Stock

Tyjae Spears is one of the best receiving backs in the nation. He is also good at racking up yards outside of the hashes. This makes me believe that he has the potential to go in the 4th or 5th round. But, I believe that him not being effective up the gap will make his draft stock fall to the middle of day 3.

Final Thoughts on Tyjae Spears

Tyjae Spears has been one of the best running backs in the American Athletic Conference this season. He is an amazing athlete who can make defenders miss on outside zone runs due to his good burst and insane top speed. He is also good at quickly changing directions which makes him very slippery in open field. Spears also shows good patience in the backfield, allowing his offensive line to execute their blocks. His effectiveness in the passing game leads me to believe that he will be a 3rd down running back in the NFL. This is because he can act as a safety valve for the QB in clutch situations.

If Spears can work on adding muscle to his frame, he could be a good back in the NFL. But right now, I am concerned about how his lack of size and toughness can hinder his effectiveness at the next level.