Thomas Cody Spencer (born June 1, 1981) is a former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the sixth round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at The University of North Texas. He won two State championships at Grapevine high school. Spencer has also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

Early years

Three-year starter for North Texas and two-time all-conference first-team selection. ■ Three-time winner of Byron Gross Award, presented to team's outstanding LB, who started 33 of 41 games during college career and totaled 297 tackles (154 solos), seven sacks, 22 TFL, two FR, one FF, seven INTs and eight PDs. ■ As senior, led Mean Green with 121 tackles and added two sacks, five TFL and three PD en route to earning All-Sun Belt Conference honors. ■ As junior, earned all-conference first-team honors despite missing nearly four games with injury, totaling 66 tackles, three INTs, and five sacks. ■ Limited to ST duties as UNT freshman before earning starting job at strongside LB as sophomore, then shifting to MLB as junior. ■ Attended Grapevine (TX) HS, where he was named all-district first-teamer at TE as junior when Grapevine won Class 4A Division I title, and all-district second-teamer at OLB as senior. OFF THE FIELD ■ Majored in applied arts. ■ Most summers as a youth, Spencer spent time on Gulf of Mexico, working with grandfather, George Spencer, on shrimping boat based out of Seadrift, TX. ■ Older brother Jeremy is member of U.S. Army and is now serving third term in Iraq. ■ He, wife, Kristin, and son, Gage, split time between Nashville, TN, and Grapevine, TX. ■ Has interest in coaching after playing career. ■ Enjoys hunting and fishing in spare time. Spencer attended

Grapevine High School Grapevine High School is a public high school located in the far northeast portion of Tarrant County in the city of Grapevine, Texas (USA). It is part of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District. Its attendance boundary includes ...

in Grapevine, Texas. State Champs '96/'98

Coaching career

After leaving the NFL, he accepted the job at

Texas High School Texas High School (THS) is a public high school in Texarkana, Texas, United States. It is part of the Texarkana Independent School District and is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League. In 2015, it was rated "Met St ...

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census. ...

. He coached there from 2010 to 2014. Served as the Special Teams coordinator and Defensive coordinator.

Post Football Career

After the 2014 season, he moved back to his home area to work as a fishing guide. Following guiding he got a better opportunity and a lifelong dream and now runs a 72 ft Viking sport fisher.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Cody 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Texas American football linebackers North Texas Mean Green football players Oakland Raiders players Tennessee Titans players New York Jets players Detroit Lions players People from Port Lavaca, Texas