Colorado junior wide receiver Nelson Spruce grabs a 71-yard touchdown pass over Hawaii senior defensive back Dee Maggitt during an NCAA football game between the Buffaloes and the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, at Folsom Field in Boulder. The Buffs won 21-12, getting their first home victory of the season. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)
It’s no secret that Colorado’s junior wide receiver Nelson Spruce has been making a significant impact on the field this season. He’s quarterback Sefo Liufau’s new go-to guy and already amassed 37 receptions in just four games. And after the first four weeks of college football this year, that impact has received national attention.
As of now, Spruce leads all of Division I football in touchdown catches with seven. He also ranks third in the nation with 518 total yards behind Alabama’s Amari Cooper (655 yards, five touchdowns) and West Virginia’s Kevin White (633 yards, three touchdowns).
Despite his recent success, Spruce said that he doesn’t really pay attention to the stats. To him, it just means his team is working as a more cohesive unit.
“I have people tell me about [leading the nation in TD catches.] It’s cool,” he said. “It just means our offense is working well. Our offensive line is protecting and Sefo is getting the ball around.”
From a young age, football has been a big part of Spruce’s life. At 6, the Los Angeles native joined a flag football league before graduating to tackle the next year. LA didn’t have an NFL team to boast about back then, but that didn’t deter Spruce from keeping up with the League.
“We didn’t really have a team in Los Angeles where I’m from, so when I was little I always liked the Steelers for some reason,” he said. “I just liked their uniforms, so I think I had a Steelers jersey when I was little.”
In high school, Spruce played a number of positions on both offense and defense. But after succeeding at cornerback and safety on the defensive side of the ball, Spruce decided that wide receiver was the position at which he strove to excel.
He then knew he wanted to take this passion for the game to the next level.
“[Playing at the college level] has been my dream since probably before I started playing football,” Spruce said. “I’ve always wanted to play since I was a little kid, and this is obviously the first step on that dream.”
Coming out of high school, Spruce had grabbed the attention of 14 different schools, 12 of which made him an offer to play at the collegiate level. Some of those schools included Air Force, Colorado State, Hawaii, Oregon State, UCLA and Colorado.
In the end, narrowing down the list of offers was simple for Spruce.
“I wanted to play in the Pac-12, first of all, and this was only one of my Pac-12 offers,” he said. “After I took my visit, I realized how great of a place [Boulder] is to live. Outside of school, there’s so much to do and academically it’s a good school.”
The competition level of the Pac-12 conference, he explained, was not one easily matched by many other conferences across the nation.
“Growing up on the west coast, I saw teams like USC and UCLA play,” he said. “If it’s not the best conference in the nation, it’s up there. I just wanted to play at this level of competition.”
At Colorado, Spruce’s success has grown more and more each year. As a redshirt freshman, Spruce saw nine starts while averaging 10.1 yards per catch. He improved upon those numbers sophomore year by starting all 12 games and averaging 11.8 yards a catch.
This has not gone unnoticed. In a recent interview with CUIndependent.com, wide receivers coach/assistant coach Troy Walters pointed out that “every day he gets better. When he first got here, he was labeled as a possession receiver, just another guy. He had a great spring. He’s never missed a practice. He just has a great work ethic, and each day he goes out on the field, I know he amazes a lot of fans.”
So far this year, Spruce’s stats have ballooned to 14 yards per catch on 37 receptions, and the season is only a third of the way over. Currently, the Colorado record for the most single-season touchdown catches belongs to Derek McCoy—a record he has held since 2003.
While Spruce’s prowess on the field is evident, Walters believes that his biggest achievements lie behind the scenes.
“What he’s done most this year is increased his leadership role,” Walters said. “In the back of our minds, we always knew he could do it. You know, [Paul Richardson] kind of overshadowed him, but Spruce has always been productive. When the ball’s thrown his way, he’s steady. You always know what you’re going to get from him.”
Despite his increased success on the field, Spruce’s favorite part of playing at Folsom Field has nothing to do with the numbers he puts up every Saturday. It’s “running out behind Ralphie. That’s just a great way to start the game and get the team out.”
Aside from football, Spruce majors in finance and enjoys playing golf and video games in the off-season. As a senior academically, Spruce views his college career as a success up to this point.
“It has been really fun,” he said. “Obviously, I would have liked to win more games my first few years, but academically I’ve been doing well. I’ve met a lot of really cool people outside of football and on the team. It’s been a really great learning experience. I feel like I’ve grown a lot.”
For now, Spruce’s biggest dream is to play in the NFL. It doesn’t matter to him whether he plays for the Steelers or not. He’d just be happy to make his mark in the pros.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.
