IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference announced today that Iowa State sophomore linebacker Marcel Spears was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row.
A native of Olathe, Kan., Spears played a huge role in Iowa State’s fourth-straight win, a victory against No. 4 TCU on Saturday. He clinched a Cyclone victory for the second-straight week with a fourth quarter interception.
Spears, who had nine tackles and one TFL in the game, sealed the victory with a pick with 1:16 left in the contest as the Cyclones were clinging to a 14-7 lead.
The week before at Texas Tech, Spears perfectly read a TTU screen pass and ran untouched 61 yards for the pick-six to put the game out of reach.
Spears is having an outstanding season, ranking fourth in the Big 12 and 40th nationally in tackles per game at 8.8. He is also tied for the team lead in forced fumbles with two.
This is the fourth-straight week an ISU player has been honored by the league: Joel Lanning (Def. PoW- Oklahoma), Kyle Kempt (Off. PoW- Oklahoma), Trever Ryen (ST PoW- Kansas) and Spears (Def. PoW- Texas Tech)
No. 14 Iowa State, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play, will travel to West Virginia on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
