College Career
Spears attended Louisiana State University, where he played for coach Nick Saban's LSU Tigers football team from 2001 to 2004. He was initially recruited by LSU as a tight end, but was soon moved to the defensive line.
In 2001, Spears played tight end, fullback and defensive end as a freshman, recording two catches for 20 yards on offense and eight tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss on defense. His play earned him freshman All-SEC honors as a tight end.
2002 marked his first season as a full-time defensive player, in which he recorded 46 tackles, 16 quarterback pressures, 3.5 tackles for losses and three sacks.
In 2003, during LSU's national championship season, Spears contributed 49 tackles, 23 quarterback pressures, 13 tackles for losses, six sacks and six passes defensed to earn First-team All-SEC honors. Playing against Oklahoma for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl, Spears returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 21-7 advantage in their 21-14 victory.
In 2004, Spears put together a career year, earning First-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, and AP, and second-team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated, first-team All-SEC honors and was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award. He finished the year tying his career-high in tackles (49) while setting career-highs for tackles for losses (17) and sacks (nine, a figure that ranks fourth in the LSU single-season records). He also recorded 21 quarterback pressures to help the Tigers finish the year third in the country in total defense.
Read more about this topic: Marcus Spears (defensive End)
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