Deshawn Spencer’s change of heart for Auburn was helped when Alex Golesh made the right call from the airport

 

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

When Saraland receiver Deshawn Spencer visited the Iron Bowl Saturday night, he was still committed to Duke. But as he watched the Tigers fight back from a 17-0 deficit to tie Alabama before ultimately losing 27-20, he found himself being swayed and believed he could help.

“Literally, in my mind, I was like, ‘I wish I could throw some pads on and play right now,’” he said. “You could feel the reaction from the crowd. There was not one single point in that game where the fans were quiet or they felt like there was a loss coming. When you’ve got a great atmosphere like that, it’s really nothing that can beat it.”

At that time, Spencer had decided Duke was not for him and despite Auburn’s unsettled coaching situation felt he would switch his commitment no matter who it was.

“The people made it home for me,” Spencer said. “When you step foot in the door, it’s like no other.”

When South Florida’s Alex Golesh was chosen the next day, Spencer admitted to being shocked, then won over when Golesh made talking to Spencer a priority once his plane landed on the Plains Sunday afternoon.

 

“It was like a pop-up call when he landed,” Spencer said, “and I got a chance to really talk to him. He was telling me ain’t nothing changed, he still wanted me. That kind of made my decision even easier because I was kind of tied between the two, Auburn and South Florida. When he ended up making that switch, it was like I got my favorite coach in a place that I wanted to be, so it was like kind of like a no-brainer. It was like God was just telling me, ‘This is where you’re meant to be.’”

Spencer, a three-star prospect who has become one of the South’s top receiver prospects as a senior, signed with the Tigers Wednesday, saying Auburn — and Golesh’s high-scoring reputation — feel like home.

“I can just see how much he pours into his players and he believes his players can go against anybody in the country,” Spencer said. “When you’ve got a head coach who’s got that type of mentality, that’s who I wanted to play for.”

Duke struggled to a 7-5 regular season and Spencer said he could no longer see himself playing there.

“There were some things with Duke that just wasn’t working,” he said. “I have great respect for the program. I appreciate coach (Manny) Diaz. It really came down to I wanted to be able to play in front of all my family, play at home and represent my state.”

Spartans coach Jeff Kelly believed Spencer’s prior relationship with Golesh and his USF staff would make a difference in tilting Spencer toward Auburn.

“It was kind of a perfect situation that came together,” Kelly said.” I think he’s going to have a chance to really flourish up there.”

Spencer said Kelly’s system has prepared a long line of great Saraland receivers to play major college football, from Velus Jones to Ryan Williams, C.D. Gill and Dillon Alfred.

“Feed the stud,” Spencer said. “That’s coach Kelly’s mentality. Anytime he gives me the opportunity to go make a big play, my mind is always to go make a big play, doing whatever it takes to make sure my guys get the win. Him being a pretty good quarterback himself, anytime he sees something, it helps me out tremendously. I can say, ‘Coach Kelly already told me that,’ like I had already been prepared for this.”

Spencer was prepared when Alford, who is now at Ole Miss, suffered a season-ending knee injury midway through the 2024 season.

“There was no more being scared or nervous,” Spencer said. “I had to step in and be the athlete that I am.”

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 (5-11, 175) — who has better statistics in his last season than Williams did in his last year at Saraland — 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.

“He’s been dominant throughout the season and really consistent,” Kelly said. “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, read coverages and beat press man or zone — 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.”

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.