Saraland’s Deshawn Spencer grabs a touchdown pass from Jamison Roberts in last week’s semifinal win over Benjamin Russell. Spencer, who has better statistics than Ryan Williams did in his final high school seasons, flipped his commitment to Auburn Tuesday. (Todd Stacey/Call News)
Saraland’s Deshawn Spencer, who is dangerous after the catch, has elevated his game in the playoffs with 35 receptions for 747 yards and eight touchdowns. (Todd Stacey/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
Deshawn Spencer is the type of receiver who gives any quarterback confidence because if the football is thrown anywhere around him, no matter the coverage, there is a 99.999999% likelihood he’ll make the catch.
Just ask Saraland coach Jeff Kelly and new Auburn coach Alex Golesh, who over the weekend threw a renewed scholarship offer at Spencer, who eagerly took it in.
“I’ve seen it with (Spartans quarterback) Jamison (Roberts) and years ago as a player myself, he’s the kind of receiver that if you give him a chance to make a play, he’s going to come down with it,” Kelly said. “The ball seems to find guys like that more times than not because he’s a trustworthy guy. From a quarterback standpoint, you’ve got to be able to trust your guys and it’s easy to trust a guy that prepares as hard as he does and then goes and competes in big games like he does.”
Spencer — who has better statistics in his last season than Ryan Williams did in his last year at Saraland — announced via social media on Tuesday that he switched his commitment from Duke to Auburn, which named Golesh its new coach on Sunday. Golesh established a good relationship with Spencer when he recruited him to come to South Florida.
New Auburn coach Alex Golesh established a good relationship with Spencer when trying to recruit him to South Florida, which made a difference in Spencer flipping his commitment to the Tigers. (Jimmy Wigfield/Call News)
“I felt throughout the recruiting process that the staff at South Florida really made a great impact and great impression on Deshawn and his family,” Kelly said. “When they made the change to Auburn, I knew with Deshawn growing up in this state, it was kind of a perfect situation that came together. I had an idea that this would happen before I even had a chance to talk to him. I think he’s going to have a chance to really flourish up there.”
Golesh is considered one of the top offensive coaches in college football and Kelly said he wouldn’t be surprised if Spencer plays as a true freshman.
“I wouldn’t bet against him,” Kelly said. “He’s going to do everything in his power day in and day out to be prepared and to work hard and that can’t help but give you an opportunity to go contribute. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s a part of what they do soon.”
Spencer, a 5-11, 175-pound senior, has 84 catches for 1,584 yards and 21 touchdowns and is averaging 18.9 yards per reception this year. Williams, the state’s only two-time Mr. Football who is now at Alabama, had 72 receptions for 1,324 yards, 19 TDs and averaged 18.4 yards per catch in his final season in 2023.
“When you look at the great players at that position we’ve had over the years, going all the way back to Velus Jones, Ryan and C.D. (Gill), guys who’ve done great things in taking over games and made an impact in many different ways, Deshawn has done that a ton,” Kelly said.
“He’s been dominant throughout the season and really consistent. He hasn’t had many games where he didn’t affect it in a good way. He’s very versatile. You can move him around in the formation and give him the ball in the run game. He’s such a smart player that you can do a lot of different things with him. He’s played all four positions in our offense and he’ll play all four positions this week. There’s not many players that have the football IQ and understanding that he does that will allow you to do those things.”
While Spencer has elite skills — from his speed, catch radius, reliability and the ability to adjust his routes and read coverages — Kelly said he has one overriding quality.
“The thing that makes Deshaun special is he’s got that innate ability when the game’s on the line, when it’s a big moment and a big game, to raise his play to a new level,” Kelly said. “That’s a competitive character trait that the great ones have. He wants to win more than anything else. He’s irrelevant to the number of catches and touches that he has. All he wants to do is win. If it takes a bunch of production from him to win, then he’s great with that. If you need to focus on the run game and you need to be a great blocker down there, he doesn’t care. He just loves to win. He loves to compete and he loves to play in the big games.
“He’s extremely tough. I keep going back to the word competitive when you think about him. He’s going to find a way to get an advantage.”
It’s hard for defensive coordinators to take Spencer away because he is so versatile.
“He’s got the ability to go vertical if they man you up and press you,” Kelly said. “He’s got the ability to understand how to break down zone coverage. And he’s got the ability within our offense to move around. If you want to double him, you better chase him around because we’re going to move him around the formation and find a lot of creative ways to get him the ball and get him involved in the offense.”
No. 2-ranked Saraland (13-0) plays No. 1 Clay-Chalkville in the Class 6A state championship game Friday at 7 p.m. at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, the Spartans’ unprecedented fourth straight trip to the Super 7.
