Anthony Spencer: A Class Act Linebacker
Cowboys linebacker Anthony Spencer gets to learn from one of the best, with DeMarcus Ware on his team, and playing on the same side of the ball as him. But that doesn’t mean Spencer can’t also learn a thing or two from receiver Miles Austin.
“Miles is a good guy. He does everything that you’d expect a teammate to do. He cares about you. I actually had him out at my golf outing a couple of days ago so I definitely had to come out and support him, Whenever you get an opportunity to give back to the community you cant help but do it because coming up, there are so many people that helped you getting to where you are right now. I know it takes a lot, so I am really proud of what he is doing out here,” Spencer told Jared Ginsberg of Class Act Sports.
Austin’s dedication to the game on and off the field is why he is referred to as “the general” by his teammates.
“He wants to win and that’s the only thing that’s on his radar is winning. And he does everything to get that done. I believe it helps us out tremendously,” Spencer said.
In fact, Austin’s work ethic inspired Spencer to challenge himself to be better. Spencer did not have a poor 2010 season by any means, with 63 total tackles and five sacks. But he improved that in 2011 with 66 total tackles, and six sacks.
“At the end of the day, you have to be your own biggest critic. If you’re not doing that, it’s hard to prosper in this game. It’s the only way I feel like I can get better so I put it out there,” he told Class Act Sports.
Spencer also discussed some of the funny times he has had with Austin.
“We seem like we have so many funny times. Even this past weekend, [Austin] won this raffle, and as soon as he won it, everyone started booing. Because he is just so lucky. It was a good time, though,” he said.
Spencer does his own charity work to help kids in need. Specifically he focuses on high schoolers making the right decisions and focusing on their education.
“I have a program right now that helps with the SAT/ACT. We help with all that stuff and do some after school programs. It’s all for the kids. I had so many people help me do the things I had to get done to get to where I am right now. Just with extra tutoring or doing stuff like that just to help me at where I am right now,” Spencer said.
He saw first hand how important high school was and how one bad decision could alter one’s life, as it did with many of his friends when he was younger.
“Just seeing so many of my teammates in high school just not have the opportunity because of certain decisions that they made at a young age. You are young so you really don’t think about it. Just making them aware of the decisions that they are making because every decision you make, even the ones in high school are probably the biggest ones that end up hurting you in life. I saw that as I was growing up and I didn’t want a lot of people having to go through the same things that a lot of my friends did,” he told Class Act Sports.
Spencer and his Cowboys missed the playoffs after an 8-8 season last year, but look to bounce back this season.
“Just getting ready. Just doing the little things right now. It feels like a whole new team that we have right now, so just trying to get everyone acclimated to each other, and just doing the little things to become teammates and have that team camaraderie because I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for us this year and I believe if we have that, we are going to go as far as we want to go,” he said.
