Koetter Dishes On Noah Spence
By James Yarcho
There’s probably more pressure on second round pick Noah Spence than there is on first round selection Vernon Hargreaves. That being said, all signs point to him living up to the billing.
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It’s not often a player taken on the second day of the draft has more pressure and higher expectations placed on them than a teammate taken in the first round, but that’s exactly what Noah Spence is facing. The defensive end out of Eastern Kentucky by way of Ohio State is the man Buccaneers’ fans are hoping breaks the double-digit sack drought left here when Simeon Rice left. As much pressure as that is for a rookie, it would appear that Spence is up for the challenge.
Head coach Dirk Koetter has been impressed with what he’s seen thus far in his rookie pass rusher, as he spoke about him in a recent press conference,
"“He’s looked really good. I love his attitude, definitely has pass rush ability, love how our defensive coaches are bringing him along, but especially I just like his attitude and the way he’s approaching it every day”"
Obviously, Koetter and defensive coordinator Mike Smith expect Spence to help bolster that pass rush that has been, well, non-existent in recent years. Spence is well on his way to doing so, as Koetter continued to praise the twenty-two year old,
"“Well, you’re seeing his pass-rush stuff, but – you’re seeing his pass rush, but again, when we’re going no pads like this it’s a little bit tough to tell if he would’ve actually won every time. He tells me he wins every time [laughs], but I think if you ask the O-linemen they’d say he didn’t win every time, so we’ll see. That’ll all play itself out.”"
We’ve seen Noah Spence be compared to the likes of Von Miller, but I think we can all agree it’s a little, ok a lot, too early for that. What we can say is the majority of Bucs fans haven’t been this excited for a pass rusher in years. Yes, there was optimism for guys like Gaines Adams, Da’Quan Bowers, and Adrian Clayborn, but not excitement like this.
Spence is a different breed. He runs on a different motor than most other guys. And he damn sure has more to prove than anyone else. No one else has had to battle back from the brink of being ousted from football altogether the way Noah Spence has. No one has had to submit drug test after to drug test to prove there haven’t been any relapses.
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Suffice it to say, there’s no one quite like Noah Spence. And we should be glad he’s a Buc.