*Tyjae Spears, Tulane Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/06/22 - RB *Tyjae Spears, rJr/2023, Tulane

Tyjae Spears rushed for more yards in Tulane's finale against Memphis last season than any player in school history not named Matt Forte. His encore might last for all of 2022. Fully recovered from a torn ACL he suffered in Septembers 2020, Spears took a handoff from Michael Pratt during a red zone drill in Tulane's first preseason practice Wednesday morning, bounced outside, turned the corner and beat everyone to the pylon for a 15-yard touchdown. He punctuated his dash with a little jump as he approached the goal line. Twelve months after admitting he was nowhere near 100 percent physically or mentally, Spears, a redshirt junior from Ponchatoula, is in a much better head space. "Last year I still had a limp, and I'm kind of getting emotional right now talking about all the hard work I put in," he said. "I don't want to brag on myself, but it's special to be here now and to keep on elevating."

How high he can go is anyone's guess. Forte's record-shattering 2,127-yard season in 2007 is untouchable, but maybe not Mewelde Moore's second-best total of 1,421 in 2001. Spears' 264-yard outburst on 30 carries at Memphis surprised no one who had seen him run. His skill set alone could help the Green Wave put last year's dismal 2-10 record in the rearview mirror. "I'll never forget one of our first practices when I got here, he got the ball on a A-gap run (between the center and guard), took a jab step and ended up in the C-gap (outside the tackle) on the other side," said linebacker Nick Anderson, who arrived in 2019 along with Spears. "Last year around this time he was hesitant to make certain cuts, but you can see him getting back to his normal self." - New Orleans Times Picayune

rJr/2023