Back home for Arceneaux, Spears

Former Demon stalwarts Bryan Arceneaux and Marcus Spears were avidly watching Friday afternoon's preseason football drills in Turpin Stadium.

Arceneaux, a defensive lineman from 1981-84 who helped Coach Sam Goodwin's Demons win the '84 Gulf Star Conference co-championship, has a vested interest. His son Colby is a sophomore safety who has just transferred in from Ole Miss.

Dad has been an avid supporter of Coach Scott Stoker's since the former Demon QB took over as head coach in 2002. Arceaneaux was a graduate assistant coach on Goodwin's staff when Stoker arrived at NSU as a walk-on in 1986.

"Big Spears" was watching the Demon offensive linemen closely for the second straight practice. He drove up from his Houston home, visited Shreveport for some business after Media Day Thursday at NSU, and came back for Friday afternoon's practice.

Spears was a two-time All-America offensive tackle in 1992-93. He was an Outland Trophy semifinalist in 1993 and shares a distinction with Jerry Rice as the only player from the FCS (then Division I-AA) level ever to make the Football Writers Association major college All-America team.

You may have heard of Rice.

Spears played 13 years in the NFL himself, mostly with Kansas City. For several years, he was invited by the NFL to speak at the annual NFL Rookies Symposium, presenting career advice to the draft picks each year.

Spears was a second-round pick of the Chicago Bears.

Now, he's considering moving back to Natchitoches and completing his undergraduate degree. Always a good student, Spears was a biology major during his college days. He was a true "diamond in the rough" who played in the Baker High School band until convincing his mother he wanted to try to play football as a senior.

Coach Goodwin saw him on film and gave him his only Division I scholarship offer. It worked out pretty well.