Marcel Spears Jr. (born May 29, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, Spears was named to the honorable mention All-Big 12 team. During the 2017 football season he was name Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week twice, in back-to-back weeks.

High school career

At Olathe North, Spears was a three sport athlete. He wrestled and competed in track & field in addition to starring on the football field. His first year starting, as a sophomore, Spears began to bloom with 132 tackles including 10 for a loss. As a junior he recorded 119 tackles, forced three fumbles, recovered two fumbles, intercepted two passes and blocked two kicks. His senior season he made 86 tackles, seven for a loss, made two sacks, two interceptions and forced a fumble. He was named All-Sunflower League twice and received second-team all-state honors by the Wichita Eagle his senior season. He ended his impressive prep career with 227 tackles, 21 for a loss, seven sacks, and four interceptions.

Recruiting

A three star recruit, Spear's only offers were Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, Idaho, and Wyoming. On July 28, 2014 he committed to the Cyclones.

College career

2017 season

After redshirting the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

season and only playing on special teams in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Spears had his breakout season in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. He was second on the team in tackles with 96 as well as second on the team in interceptions with two. His 96 tackles were good for sixth in the Big 12 and his 48 assisted tackles were second in the Big 12, only behind Joel Lanning. Against Iowa, Spears made 17 tackles with 1.5 of them for a loss and two weeks later he totaled 14 tackles against Texas. His best two games were against Texas Tech and

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. Against the Red Raiders Marcel made seven tackles, defended a pass, and made a pick 6 to seal the game. The following week he made nine tackles, one for a loss, and an interception for the second consecutive week. Spears received the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award for his performances in both the Texas Tech and TCU games. At the conclusion of the season he was named Honorable mention All-Big 12 by the Big 12 coaches.

College statistics

Professional career

Spears signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020.

Houston Gamblers

Spears Jr. signed with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL on March 23, 2023.

References

External links

Iowa State Cyclones bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spears, Marcel Jr. 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Olathe, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas American football linebackers Iowa State Cyclones football players Cincinnati Bengals players Houston Gamblers (2022) players