Versatile DE picks up two more

Playing strictly defense as a junior, Arlington (Texas) Lamar's Chandler Spence had already proven himself a valuable commodity, securing offers from Air Force, Buffalo, Louisiana Tech and Virginia before his senior season. Now with his senior year under way, Spence is showcasing more and more skills to tempt college programs, including two schools that have extended recent offers.

"Right now we're 3-0 and I'm playing both sides of the ball," the 6-foot-4 245-pounder said. "I'm playing tight end and defensive end and I'm also punting.

"Playing both ways has taken some getting used to," he said. "It's taking some more conditioning but I like it. The tight end is a pretty big part of our offense so I stay pretty involved."

Asked what personal goals he has been focusing on, the two-star kept the team first.

"First things first and that's the team," he said. "The district we are in is one of the toughest in the state with teams like Cedar Hill and DeSoto. We need to be strong every week.

"One thing that I've been working is punting," he said. "My goal is to have above a 41-yard average. My sophomore year I had a 40-yard average. Last year it dropped down below 38 yards because of an injury but I'd like to get it back up.

"A few schools are looking at me to punt a little bit in college," he said. "Virginia is one school that is looking at me to maybe come in and be a backup punter."

Other coaches are taking notice of his versatility as well. Spence has picked up two recent offers with potentially more to come.

"The last two schools that offered me were Arizona and SMU," he said. "Some schools that are talking to me that haven't yet are Central Florida, Vandy, Utah, TCU, Kansas and Colorado."

With his team's season as his first priority, Spence is in no rush to take his official visits and even less of one to make a commitment.

"As far as official visits, I want to wait until after the season," he said. "I've talked to my parents and coach and decided that once I commit, I'm sticking with it. So when I make my commitment I want to make sure it's the right school."

With as much moving around as Spence does on the field, it's nice to know that the senior will be staying put off of it.