Westlake High product tries to stick with Rams undrafted receiver Spruce hoping to defy the odds
With hundreds of local high school coaches at the Rams’ organized team activities Friday, Jim Benkert thought he’d blend into the crowd.
There was a steady buzz as coaches rapped about their upcoming seasons. Some jotted notes on the team rosters that were distributed. Others shuffled up and down the field to steal glances at the more notable players: defensive tackle Aaron Donald; running back Todd Gurley; No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff.
But Benkert kept his eyes trained on Nelson Spruce. He was probably the only visiting coach keeping close tabs on an undrafted free agent. He also was the only visiting coach watching one of his former players try to
make the Rams.
“I really felt like a proud papa,” said Benkert, who coached Spruce at Westlake High and now heads the varsity at Oaks Christian. “I wasn’t sure if he’d see me, but I was watching him.”
The last time Spruce played in front of high school coaches, he couldn’t attract the attention of local colleges such as USC or UCLA. He had some contact but apparently wasn’t big enough or fast enough, his only Pac-12 offer coming from Colorado. He took it, and five years later he’s the conference’s all-time leading receiver and close to realizing his dream of playing in the NFL.
And the path to that dream cuts straight through his backyard.
“I feel like I’ve always been a bit under the radar,” Spruce, who grew up 30 minutes from the Oxnard facility, said last week. “There’s something in me that always wants to prove everybody wrong.”
That started at Westlake, where Spruce excelled in football and baseball but took long strides instead of short, quick steps. Benkert thinks it was Spruce’s lack of blazing speed that kept bigger schools away. So he redshirted at Colorado before starting, and shining, for four years.
Spruce’s college totals — 294 receptions, 3,347 receiving yards, 23 touchdowns, an average of at least 10 yards per catch each season — show that a wide receiver can be effective without notable size or speed.
“If you’re not going to wow with your athleticism, you need to do everything else,” Benkert said. “Nelson made himself into a complete player because he had to.”
There’s a lot for Spruce to adjust to, and think about, as OTAs continued Monday before wrapping up Thursday.
All of his routes need to be more precise. The offense is similar to what he ran at Colorado with a lot more wrinkles. Since the Rams drafted two receivers and signed four as undrafted free agents, it’s easy for Spruce to survey the field and calculate the odds.
But he mostly focuses on short-term goals: not dropping passes, running hard and with precision during relaxed skeleton drills designed to teach offensive concepts, not bobbling punts when fielding returns with fourth-round pick Pharoh Cooper and fourthyear receiver Tavon Austin. And when he gets an opportunity with the second- or third-team offense, Spruce looks to make himself an option on every play.
It worked just enough to get him to Colorado, then just enough for him to latch on to an NFL team. Next, Spruce will see whether it’s enough to stick around.
“Whenever I see him out there he gets into space well and I try to put it on him,” said Goff, who trained with Spruce leading up to the draft. “He’s done a really good job so far.”
After making a catch in an early practice drill last Friday, Spruce surprised Benkert by spotting his former coach from the field.
They made eye contact and Spruce offered a subtle nod. Benkert subtly nodded back. Then Spruce dropped his head, jogged to the end of the line and prepared for the next rep.
“I feel like it’s a young group and not a lot of returning experience,” Spruce said. “So guys like me ... it’s just an opportunity to go out there and make the coaches notice us.”