Isaiah Spencer 1, Football Gods, 0.
Try as they might, those great Gods of the Gridiron could not keep Spencer off the field forever. First they cursed the offensive lineman with – strange as it may sound – too much size. Then they tried the more typical route of cutting him down with injuries.
But the man of 1,000 resiliencies just kept coming, and played a major role in the Lawrence High football team’s 3-0 start this season.
At 6-foot-6, 330 pounds, Spencer is the Cardinals strong-side tackle. He and the rest of the offensive line were a big reason why sophomore running back James Lyons rushed for 608 yards in the first three games.
“We take pride in that,” Spencer said. “We open up lanes for him, keep it nice and wide open for him. We want it to be Mack Truck size (holes).”
The affable senior can be considered Mack Truck size himself, which is part of the reason his football career got such a late start.
As a middle schooler, Spencer was 6-2, 250 pounds, well over the weight limit for Pop Warner or any other rec football program.
“I always wanted to play football,” he said. “I just wasn’t allowed.”
His chance finally arrived in high school, but while playing a touch football game in gym class, disaster struck when Spencer tore his left ACL. He missed his entire freshman and sophomore seasons going through rehabilitation and was ready for an aborted start as a junior.
Once again, fate played an ugly hand as Spencer tore a tendon in his left knee during a preseason scrimmage. After yet another rehab he was able to start in the Cardinals last four games of a 1-9 season.
Amazingly, the size of his spirit was as big as his frame, as Spencer never let himself get completely down.
“There was a period in my life I did feel like that, I got injured again my junior and that’s when it really came upon me,” he said. “Being so big at my age I’m always being told I’m football this, I’m football that. But at the end of the day what drives me is my family, my siblings. They’re all really big into sports, older brothers, my little brother (Zane, a Cardinals defensive end). They pushed me to stay positive.
“I knew once everything got done and over with, I had to come back 100 percent better.”
When he was finally able to get snaps in a game, Isaiah was a work in progress.
“Oh my God,” head coach Rob Radice said with a laugh. “I considered him a project but you can’t just make that body type up. It’s such a good looking body. He really bought into the weight room and really changed his body. Probably dropped like 20 pounds and added muscle and became one of the strongest kids in the weight room. He’s pushing weight around, he’s strong on the bench, strong on the clean, strong on the squat. Really strong.”
Radice short-changed Spencer by about 40 pounds as he actually went from 390 to 330 just through weight training. He barely changed his eating habits.
“I just dedicated myself to the weight room,” he said.
Through the final four games of 2023, Spencer joined an inexperienced unit at right tackle. That was part of Lawrence’s issues last year, since an offensive line needs chemistry to work together.
“Spence was trial by fire,” Radice said. “We had five brand new offensive starters on the line who never played one down of varsity. We struggled a little in the win column largely because of that. This year they’re all back. All juniors and seniors who are playing really well. We see a difference in the win column, a difference in everything we do.”
The line features Yousef Elsharawy as the strong side guard, Tyleer Duncan at center and Chris Tuccillo and Elijah Muse as the opposite side guard and tackle.
“Last year the whole point of our o-line was to get us experience as sophomores and juniors,” Spencer said. “We were just coming together to try and get better. This year our chemistry together is just perfect.”
It has taken some work, especially with Spencer since he had no childhood training. With his size, he was ahead of the game, but that’s only half the battle.
“We did constant work in technique,” Radice said. “We’re telling him right foot, right step, near foot, you gotta pull step, bucket step. It’s been a constant thing teaching him and the other guys. They’re all new to the game. It was up to us to set the foundation, do it right.
“He’s just gotten better and better. He’s doing really well. Defenses are putting their biggest and best guys on him and he’s doing a good job combating that. He’s a fast learner, a great kid. He’s a really good student. I had him in class as a junior and he’s just awesome. He’s like a 3.2 grade point average. He works hard in class and on the field.”
Radice and Spencer both felt that Isaiah’s summer attending the Rutgers Big Man and Villanova camps helped his progress.
“I felt they were real eye openers for him, and he understands the big picture more now,” Radice said. “And I think it’s really good for him learning to play both sides of the ball this year.”
When he wasn’t attending camp, Spencer worked as a lifeguard in Lawrence. When it was suggested he might drain the pool when diving in to save someone, he laughed and said matter-of-factly, “Nah, it’s really easy for me. I just go in and save anybody that needs saving.”
And while it wasn’t quite as easy for him to learn the nuances of offensive line play as it was stopping someone from drowning, Spencer does feel at home there now.
“I feel real comfortable in the sense of football, with everything we were practicing,” Spencer said. “I think run and pass blocking are about the same (to learn).”
One of the best things about the lineman is his physicality.
“We have a saying KLT – Keep Lawrence Tough,” Radice said. “We want tough guys, we want resilient guys. We want to be blue collar in nature and approach and we want to push you around. We want to bully you. That mentality hasn’t been easy to establish here but this year I think these guys have finally got it.
“They’ve been with me for four years and they’re starting to understand what I’m about. They’re taking on the personality of coach (Nate) Jones and I. It’s time to push people around. A guy like Spence, you’ve been working really hard, you’re bigger, faster, stronger, now it’s time to express your will on people.”
Spencer is hoping to play college but knows he only has this year to get his name out there.
“I think he could absolutely be a Division I fit if it’s the right fit,” Radice said. “We’ll see where it plays out. It’s a process. He’s gotta have great senior tape because he was so raw last year. With great senior tape and his ability to really show that he can play and be aggressive on the field, he’s gonna open some doors for himself.”
No matter what happens, the coach could not be prouder of the person and the player Spencer has become.
“You can’t say enough good about the kid,” Radice said. “He’s such an awesome kid. People in the building love him. His personality is infectious. He’s one of the nicest kids I know. He reminds me of the kid from the Blind Side (Michael Oher). He’s a phenomenal kid and he’s a great story.”
And just maybe, the Football Gods have even started to like him.
Isaiah Spencer during a recent football practice at Lawrence High School. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
