Marcus Spears

His 35 tackles were 12th on the team - third among linemen and rookies, while his six quarterback pressures were fourth.

He also added 1.5 sacks and a pass defended.

In his NFL debut at the San Diego Chargers, Spears was in the defensive line rotation but did not record a tackle.

He recorded his first sack - one he split with Greg Ellis - and his first career tackle against the Washington Redskins.

Spears then led all defensive linemen with four tackles at the San Francisco 49ers.

He helped limit the Philadelphia Eagles to 129 yards, including just 19 rushing, the fourth lowest in franchise history.

Spears earned his first NFL start at defensive end at the Seattle Seahawks and responded with three tackles and a batted pass while helping limit Shaun Alexander, the NFL's leading rusher to 21 carries for 61 yards (2.9 avg.).

He officially moved into the starting lineup full-time against the Arizona Cardinals and led all linemen with four tackles.

Spears logged his third career start in Philadelphia and posted a season-high seven tackles to lead all linemen and finish second on the team.

Marcus Rayshon Spears (born March 8, 1983), nicknamed "Swagu", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Dallas Cowboys.

He played college football for the LSU Tigers, earning consensus All-American honors.

He was named first-team Class 1A all-state selection on both offense and defense following his senior season, becoming the first player to be honored on both in Louisiana since 1991.

He finished his final prep season with 28 receptions for 435 yards and three touchdowns and 245 rushing yards and six touchdowns on offense and 22 tackles for losses, 11.5 quarterback sacks and four fumble recoveries on defense.

Spears was also one of the nation's top basketball prospects.

He was named Gatorade Basketball Player of the Yea r for Louisiana following his senior season.

He played in the first ever U.S. Army All-American Bowl game on December 30, 2000.

Spears attended Louisiana State University, where he played for coach Nick Saban's LSU Tigers football team from 2001 to 2004.

He was initially recruited by LSU as a tight end, but was soon moved to the defensive line.

Spears played tight end, fullback and defensive end as a freshman in 2001, recording two catches for 20 yards on offense and eight tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss on defense.

His play earned him freshman All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors as a tight end.

The 2002 season marked his first as a full-time defensive player, in which he recorded 46 tackles, 16 quarterback pressures, 3.5 tackles for losses and three sacks.

In 2003, during LSU's national championship season, Spears contributed 49 tackles, 23 quarterback pressures, 13 tackles for losses, six sacks and six passes defensed to earn First-team All-SEC honors.

Playing against the Oklahoma Sooners for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl, Spears returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 21–7 advantage in their 21–14 victory.

During his 2004 senior season, Spears put together a career year, earning first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, and AP, and second-team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated, first-team All-SEC honors, and was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award.

He finished the year tying his career-high in tackles (49) while setting career-highs for tackles for losses (17) and sacks (nine, a figure that ranks fourth in the LSU single-season records).

He also recorded 21 quarterback pressures to help the Tigers finish the year third in the country in total defense.

In April 2021, Spears was inducted into the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Spears was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

He also played in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens.

Spears was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

He was a highly sought after two-sport athlete in the country following his senior season at Southern University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge.

On the high school football field, he was rated as the No. 1 tight end prospect in America and the third-best overall prospect after earning high school All-America honors.

The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2005 NFL Draft with two first round draft choices.

In his first training camp in 2005 as a rookie, he sprained his right knee and ankle while straining his calf.

He missed the first three preseason games but bounced back in time for the final preseason game and recorded three tackles and a sack.

He started the season as a backup in the team's 4-3 defense but moved into a right defensive end starting role midway through the season, to earn All-Rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly.

Spears was considered by head coach Bill Parcells to be the key to the team's eventual move to a 3-4 defense and wanted to take him with the first selection (11th overall pick).

However, owner/GM Jerry Jones overruled Parcells and drafted DeMarcus Ware instead, who the team thought would not be available later in the draft.

Spears was eventually selected by the Cowboys with the 20th overall pick.

Spears suffered from injury problems in his first two training camps.