Anderson on Spears: "This year is going to be a breakout year for him.”
Sep 19, 2020 | Football
NEW ORLEANS – Redshirt freshman running back Tyjae Spears opened the 2020 season in historic fashion. The Ponchatoula, Louisiana, native rushed for 105 yards on 11 attempts at South Alabama and is looking to be the lead back in a stout Green Wave backfield.
Spears is the first freshman to rush for 100 or more yards under head coach Willie Fritz at Tulane. He is also the sixth Green Wave freshman to rush for 100 or more yards since 2001. The redshirt freshman helped the Olive and Blue extend the streak of 100-yard rushing games to 54.
The redshirt freshman running back comes to the Uptown campus ready to work every day. This has caught the eye of his teammates.
"His explosiveness, his quickness, being able to stop on a dime, his physicality and toughness coming out of the back field and his hard work like Coach Fritz said earlier [impresses me the most about Tyjae Spears]," junior linebacker Nick Anderson said. "During camp, me and Tyjae would always go at it, but it was friendly competition for him to help me get better and for me to help him get better. I feel like Tyjae is one of the premier players on our team. I love his dedication. All this summer, we would be out here working, and he would be helping me stop on a dime and make tackles. I come up to him all the time and ask him what he looks at when I am blitzing. He asks me questions and we just build off each other. I have extreme confidence in him this year. This year is going to be a breakout year for him."
Although, Spears is only 5 foot, 10 inches tall and 190 pounds, he is not afraid of contact.
"He is a dog," Anderson said. "He is a true dog at running back. He almost has like a defensive mindset being in the backfield. He is not afraid of contact and he will bring the contact to you. We just love to have that at running back, somebody that is going to make you tackle him. One play he will try to run you over and the next play you will think he is trying to run you over and he will hit you with a move. I just love that about him. He is so swift. He has a lot of tools in his toolbox. He is a dynamic running back."
He is ready to take a big step up for the Green Wave this season, but he does not allow that to change his mindset of a team player.
"It is not just about me, so how ever I can support I am going to do so," Spears said.
The running back works hard and will step up in any spot his team needs. There is nowhere he shows that more than the blocking game.
"He has unbelievable work ethic," Fritz said of Spears. "This guy comes to work every single day. He is one of our hardest workers. He is tough. He will block you. Sometimes you get guys who don't want to do those extra things, but he is a tough, hard-nosed competitor. He is as good a blocker as we've got. There were three or four times during camp we had some big linebackers blitzing in the A gap and the B gap and he met them at the line of scrimmage and put them on their backs, which is unusual for a running back to do. We love everything about him. He can catch the ball, he is assignment sound, he is good inside and outside. I think he is only going to get better."
Spears and the Green Wave will open the 2020 home slate against Navy on Saturday, September 19. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be aired on ABC.
Download the official mobile app of Tulane Athletics. Now, you can stay in touch with the Green Wave anytime and anywhere on your Android or iOS mobile device.
Follow Tulane football on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @GreenWaveFB. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
Spears is the first freshman to rush for 100 or more yards under head coach Willie Fritz at Tulane. He is also the sixth Green Wave freshman to rush for 100 or more yards since 2001. The redshirt freshman helped the Olive and Blue extend the streak of 100-yard rushing games to 54.
The redshirt freshman running back comes to the Uptown campus ready to work every day. This has caught the eye of his teammates.
"His explosiveness, his quickness, being able to stop on a dime, his physicality and toughness coming out of the back field and his hard work like Coach Fritz said earlier [impresses me the most about Tyjae Spears]," junior linebacker Nick Anderson said. "During camp, me and Tyjae would always go at it, but it was friendly competition for him to help me get better and for me to help him get better. I feel like Tyjae is one of the premier players on our team. I love his dedication. All this summer, we would be out here working, and he would be helping me stop on a dime and make tackles. I come up to him all the time and ask him what he looks at when I am blitzing. He asks me questions and we just build off each other. I have extreme confidence in him this year. This year is going to be a breakout year for him."
Although, Spears is only 5 foot, 10 inches tall and 190 pounds, he is not afraid of contact.
"He is a dog," Anderson said. "He is a true dog at running back. He almost has like a defensive mindset being in the backfield. He is not afraid of contact and he will bring the contact to you. We just love to have that at running back, somebody that is going to make you tackle him. One play he will try to run you over and the next play you will think he is trying to run you over and he will hit you with a move. I just love that about him. He is so swift. He has a lot of tools in his toolbox. He is a dynamic running back."
He is ready to take a big step up for the Green Wave this season, but he does not allow that to change his mindset of a team player.
"It is not just about me, so how ever I can support I am going to do so," Spears said.
The running back works hard and will step up in any spot his team needs. There is nowhere he shows that more than the blocking game.
"He has unbelievable work ethic," Fritz said of Spears. "This guy comes to work every single day. He is one of our hardest workers. He is tough. He will block you. Sometimes you get guys who don't want to do those extra things, but he is a tough, hard-nosed competitor. He is as good a blocker as we've got. There were three or four times during camp we had some big linebackers blitzing in the A gap and the B gap and he met them at the line of scrimmage and put them on their backs, which is unusual for a running back to do. We love everything about him. He can catch the ball, he is assignment sound, he is good inside and outside. I think he is only going to get better."
Spears and the Green Wave will open the 2020 home slate against Navy on Saturday, September 19. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be aired on ABC.
Download the official mobile app of Tulane Athletics. Now, you can stay in touch with the Green Wave anytime and anywhere on your Android or iOS mobile device.
Follow Tulane football on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @GreenWaveFB. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
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