Noah Spence (born January 8, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, and was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

in the second round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

Early years

Spence attended Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he played on the football team. Over his junior and senior seasons, he had 204 tackles and 35.5 sacks. As a senior, he was the

Gatorade Football Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

for Pennsylvania. Spence was rated by

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as a five-star recruit and was the number one weakside defensive end in his class and ninth best player overall. He committed to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

to play college football.

College career

Spence played in 12 games as a true freshman at Ohio State in 2012 and had 12 tackles and one sack. As a sophomore in 2013, he started 13 games and recorded 50 tackles and eight sacks. On January 1, 2014, he was suspended for three games, which included the 2014 Orange Bowl and the first two games of 2014, after testing positive for

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes. The desire ...

. In September 2014, Spence was suspended indefinitely after another failed drug test. He was ruled permanently ineligible by the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in November. Spence transferred to

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online u ...

in 2015. In his lone season at Eastern Kentucky, he had 63 tackles and 11.5 sacks and was the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cham ...

co-Defensive Player of the Year. After the season, he entered the

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Spence was drafted by the

in the second round, 39th overall, in the

. In the month of November, Spence had 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles earning him Defensive Rookie of the Month. In 2017, Spence played in six games, recording nine tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble. He was placed on injured reserve on October 25, 2017 with a shoulder injury. On August 31, 2019, Spence was waived by the Buccaneers.

Washington Redskins

On September 18, 2019, Spence signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He was waived on November 19, 2019.

New Orleans Saints

On December 11, 2019, Spence signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. On March 23, 2020, Spence re-signed with the Saints. He was placed on the reserve/

non-football injury Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...

list on May 26, 2020, after suffering a torn ACL. On March 2, 2021, Spence re-signed with the Saints on a one-year contract. He was released on August 17, 2021.

Cincinnati Bengals

On August 22, 2021, Spence signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was waived on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. On February 15, 2022, Spence signed a reserve/future contract. He was released on August 30, 2022.

References

External links

Ohio State Buckeyes bioEastern Kentucky Colonels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Noah 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania American football defensive ends American football outside linebackers Ohio State Buckeyes football players Eastern Kentucky Colonels football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Washington Redskins players New Orleans Saints players Cincinnati Bengals players