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WR Evan Spencer (BIG Champion, National Champion)

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Updated: June 7, 2010
Vernon Hills' Spencer commits to OSU
By Scott Powers
ESPN Chicago.com


Chicago Bears running backs coach Tim Spencer once left his staple on Ohio State's football program. Now, his son will try to do the same.

Vernon Hills wide receiver Evan Spencer, one of the nation's top 2011 prospects, followed in his father's footsteps and committed to the Buckeyes over the weekend.

Spencer, a 6-foot, 178-pound wideout, chose Ohio State over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue and Wisconsin.

"I think he was leaning that way, but he was open to other options," Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said of Spencer's Ohio State commitment. "There was no one that blew him away that showed him that he should go somewhere else."

ESPN Scouts, Inc. ranks Spencer as the 18th-best wide receiver and 104th overall player in the 2011 class.

"This commitment is not much of shocker for Buckeye fans with the family ties but is still a very important verbal as they landed a natural pass catcher with well-rounded skill-set," ESPN'S Billy Tucker said. "Ohio State's fourth ESPNU 150 prospect for 2011 has good physical tools to develop in Columbus.

"While not elite in one particular facet at the position, Spencer runs well and possesses the total package at the position. This guy can turn the short pass into a big gain or get vertical as a route runner, create separation and make the difficult downfield grab. Very good week for the Buckeyes as they landed their future quarterback in Under Armour All-American Braxton Miller and now pass catcher in Spencer."

Spencer caught 14 touchdowns last season for Vernon Hills and is expected to have an even better senior season beside uncommitted DaVaris Daniels, the 15th-ranked wide receiver in the 2011 class.

"He's got exceptional speed," Monken said of Spencer. "He has great hands. He plays with the ball above his head. He's a strong runner with the ball. He's obviously has great instincts growing up in a football family. He's someone who understands the work ethic involved to be successful."
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Vernon Hills' Evan Spencer commits to Ohio State - ESPN Chicago
 
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It's Ohio State for Vernon Hills' Spencer
By Patricia Babcock McGraw | Daily Herald Staff
Contact writer
Published: 6/7/2010

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That was fast.

It didn't take long for the autograph seekers at Ohio State to sniff out the hottest new football star in town.

They got to Evan Spencer during his visit to the school in April.

"We were there for the spring football game," said the standout Vernon Hills wide receiver, who just completed his junior year. "I signed about five or six autographs. My dad did, too. We just had to walk away after awhile, otherwise we would have missed the entire game signing autographs."

Keep in mind this happened long before Spencer even committed to become a Buckeye.

Just think of how many autographs he might be asked to sign now that he's actually made things somewhat official.

On Saturday, Spencer verbally committed to play his college football at Ohio State, the same place his father Tim played football and also coached for many years as an assistant.

The autograph seekers who fondly remembered Tim, who left his coaching gig at Ohio State to become a running backs coach with the Chicago Bears, were all over the fact that Evan could be the latest Spencer to star in Columbus.

"I'm really not going around thinking about all that too much and I'm not going to get a big head about it or anything," Spencer said of the unexpected autograph session. "But, it still was kind of cool."
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Daily Herald's Football Focus 2009 | It's Ohio State for Vernon Hills' Spencer
 
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Spencer tabs colors: scarlet and grey
June 8, 2010
By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
[email protected]

FOOTBALL -- A parade of NCAA coaching phenoms and icons have come calling over the past several months.

Every bright-colored college sweater seen in the building carries high hopes of landing one of Vernon Hills High School's biggest prizes -- high-profile prospects Evan Spencer and DaVaris Daniels.

"Both guys have had several big-time offers," Cougars coach Tony Monken confirmed. "We've had a lot of college coaches in here, and some of them I've already known from other recruiting visits. It's been a lot of work, but there's no way I would trade it."

Spencer made one of those college-coaching legends content on Saturday, while breaking the hearts of countless others, when he committed to play for Ohio State University head coach Jim Tressel, beginning in 2011.

"I talked to him on the phone ,and when I visited the campus," Spencer said of Tressel, widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the college game. "But the biggest thing was talking to (OSU senior wide receiver) Dan Sanzenbacher. He really helped me get a feel for what the school was like from a player's standpoint. There were really many reasons, but when I went visited there, it just felt right for me."

After sifting through the stockpile of offers, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Spencer made up his mind that he wanted to make his decision this summer. In the end, he gave Ohio State the nod over Iowa.

It just so happens to be the same school where his father, Tim -- the Chicago Bears running back coach -- starred in the early 1980s, compiling 3,553 career rushing yards, which is still third on OSU's all-time list behind Heisman Trophy winners Archie Griffin (5,589) and Eddie George (3,768).

"It played a little bit of a role in terms of knowing there was a good supporting background there," Spencer said. "But it wasn't that much of a factor because I wanted to find a place that was best for me -- not anybody else."

The younger Spencer starred for the Cougars on both sides of the ball on his way to all-conference honors during his breakout campaign last fall.

The three-year veteran teamed with Daniels, giving Vernon Hills one of the most dangerous tandems in the area offensively. They helped the Cougars (8-3, 6-0) capture the NSC Prairie Division title, for the first time in four years, and advance to the second round of the IHSA playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Spencer, who also qualified for the IHSA Class 2A State Track Meet in the 100-meter dash last month, caught 28 passes for 426 yards and five touchdowns at wideout. The multi-purpose threat added 380 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 33 carries out of the backfield.

But he's still hoping to put one huge exclamation point on his prep career this fall before heading to Columbus to join one of the top programs in the country.

"My biggest focus in the offseason is to do whatever it takes to get the team Downstate," Spencer said. "And I see myself being a physical player next year with breakaway speed."

Weight lifted: Spencer said he's glad the eye-opening recruiting process he's endured has finally come to a close.

"It's been very fun," he added "But with all the phone calls and mail, it became pretty strenuous and annoying, really."

At the same time, Monken believes the experience has helped the program's next wave of highly touted prospects.

"This whole process has been great exposure for the program," the coach said. "Because we also have a lot of younger guys who have Division I potential."
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Spencer tabs colors: scarlet and grey :: High Schools :: YourSeason
 
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Bears' Spencer beaming over OSU-bound son
June 23, 2010 10:25 AM
By Vaughn McClure

While former Bears defensive end Phillip Daniels' son, DaVaris, delayed making a college decision, his Vernon Hills teammate made a Bears' assistant coach one very proud papa.

Evan Spencer, who mans the other Vernon Hills receiver spot opposite the younger Daniels, recently gave a verbal commitment to Ohio State. It's the same school where his father, Bears running backs coach Tim Spencer, was a star running back in the early 1980s.

"I'm pretty excited about it and feel blessed,'' Tim Spencer said. "He's worked his butt off and prepared for this. He still has his senior year left, but he wanted to get it out of the way."

. . .
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Bears' Spencer beaming over OSU-bound son - Chicago Breaking Sports
 
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It's all Spencer, Vernon Hills in rout of Chicago Raby
By John Bumbales | Daily Herald Correspondent
Contact writer
Published: 9/3/2010

Nobody could have imagined just how big a mismatch Friday night's nonconference football game between host Vernon Hills and Chicago Raby could become.

But from the opening whistle the Cougars jumped all over the out-manned Raiders as Vernon Hills scored early and often, in just about every possible way, and dominated Raby to the tune of a 56-0 halftime lead while never making a single extra-point conversion.

From there the second half was scoreless, and the Cougars would just coast to a very lopsided 56-0 victory over Raby as they used free substitution from very early in the contest.

The running clock actually started after Vernon Hills senior Evan Spencer went 48 yards down the right sideline on a punt return for the touchdown and a 44-0 lead with 4:42 left in the first quarter.

That TD culminated a huge but brief offensive night for Spencer, who started the onslaught by scoring on a 12-yard run for a 6-0 lead only 40 seconds into the game. A 51-yard pass from Steve Nelson to senior DaVaris Daniels had taken the ball to the 7 before a 5-yard penalty on Vernon Hills (2-0) put the ball on the 12.

Spencer's 19-yard TD reception from Nelson made the score 12-0 with 10:29 left in the first quarter before Daniels out-battled two defenders for a 37-yard TD catch near the right pylon for an 18-0 lead with 9:14 to go in the first quarter.

Then came the real back-breaker for Raby (0-2) as Spencer intercepted a pass in the flat before racing 30 yards for the TD and a commanding 24-0 lead just 15 seconds later. The Raiders only had 25 players in uniform.

After Spencer's interception, it was Daniels' turn to take an interception to the house as Daniels leaped high for the interception before going the distance for a 45-yard return and a 30-0 advantage.

Then if things could not get any worse, Raby quarterback Christopher Covington was tackled in his own end zone for a safety on the Raiders next possession as Vernon Hills' lead ballooned to 32-0 with still 7:22 left in the first quarter.

"We executed like we had in practice and we knew if we executed we could put up a score like this," said the Ohio State-bound Spencer. "It was like however we could get them, we took them."
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Daily Herald's Football Focus 2010 | It's all Spencer, Vernon Hills in rout of Chicago Raby

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FynYNqsdi4Y]YouTube - Evan Spencer Highlights[/ame]
 
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Spencer shows off versatility: Evan Spencer scored four touchdowns in four different ways ? and he did it all in one half.

The Ohio State-bound Spencer, who is not even the highest-ranked receiver on his own team, scored on a 12-yard run, a 19-yard catch, a 30-yard interception return and a 48-yard punt return in the first half of a 56-0 victory over outmanned Raby.

Spencer's six touchdowns in two weeks ? two more than uncommitted blue-chipper DaVaris Daniels ? helped Vernon Hills outscore Niles West and Raby 101-0, with all but six points coming in the first half of those games.
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Football notes | Mitz brings running, winning brand to Jacobs - Chicago Tribune
 
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Vernon Hills 47, Lakes 0

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Vernon Hills' Evan Spencer runs for a touchdown on this play during their football game at Lakes. (Michael Jarecki/for STM
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It was night in which Monken employed four quarterbacks. The first one, Daniels, broke his first run of the contest for 38 yards. His first completed pass was good for the game's first score, a 40 yard bomb to Evan Spencer.

The Ohio State bound senior would carry only once and that paid off on a 53-yard TD run making it 12-0.

"We just came out with so much intensity," Spencer said.
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Football | Vernon Hills blows out Round Lake 60-0

Round Lake became the latest team to suffer a nightmarish blowout to the Cougars.

Vernon Hills has outscored its first four opponents 208-0. At least Round Lake (1-3, 0-2) took some chances in the first quarter, attempting two fake punts and two halfback passes. The Cougars sniffed out the trick plays and didn't allow a first down until Round Lake's seventh possession.
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The Cougars managed to throw in some trickery in the second quarter, when Daniels took a screen and pitched it to Ohio State-bound Evan Spencer for a 36-yard gain on a hook-and-ladder.
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DailyHerald's Football Focus 2010 | Vernon Hills registers shutout of Antioch

Meanwhile, Evan Spencer, the Cougars' other highly touted receiver and an Ohio State recruit, didn't score but did make some spectacular plays on the night.

"Something we talk about is 'Choose your poison,'" Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said. "If you try to take Daniels and Spencer out, which is what I think they tried to do tonight, then you've got to deal with Bradford and Palmer."
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