Marcel Spears named Big 12 DPOW for second straight week

The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State Athletics Communications.

IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference announced today that Iowa State sophomore linebacker Marcel Spears was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row.

A native of Olathe, Kan., Spears played a huge role in Iowa State’s fourth-straight win, a victory against No. 4 TCU on Saturday. He clinched a Cyclone victory for the second-straight week with a fourth-quarter interception.

Spears, who had nine tackles and one TFL in the game, sealed the victory with a pick with 1:16 left in the contest as the Cyclones were clinging to a 14-7 lead.

The week before at Texas Tech, Spears perfectly read a TTU screen pass and ran untouched 61 yards for the pick-six to put the game out of reach.

Spears is having an outstanding season, ranking fourth in the Big 12 and 40^th nationally in tackles per game at 8.8. He is also tied for the team lead in forced fumbles with two.

This is the fourth-straight week an ISU player has been honored by the league: Joel Lanning (Def. PoW- Oklahoma), Kyle Kempt (Off. PoW- Oklahoma), Trever Ryen (ST PoW- Kansas) and Spears (Def. PoW- Texas Tech)

No. 14 Iowa State, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play, will travel to West Virginia on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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