Spencer Paysinger

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Spencer Paysinger
No. 55, 52, 54, 42, 56
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1988-06-28) June 28, 1988 (age 36)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:236 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school: Beverly Hills (CA)
College: Oregon
Undrafted: 2011
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:224
Sacks:1.0
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Spencer Paysinger (born June 28, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played until 2017, and in 2018 became a co-producer and actor on the television series All American , inspired by the story of his life.

Contents

Early life and college

Spencer Paysinger grew up in South Los Angeles, and attended Beverly Hills High School. [1]  He then was made the captain of the football team as a linebacker. He played college football for the Oregon Ducks. In his last year playing as a senior on the team, Paysinger was the captain and team leader. [2]

His uncle, Carter Paysinger, was the head football coach at BHHS from 1990 to 2009. [3] His father, Donald Paysinger, worked with BHHS as an assistant or head coach for nearly 32 years until 2013. [4]

Professional career

New York Giants

After not getting selected in the 2011 NFL draft, Paysinger signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent. As a rookie Paysinger did not get much playing time. In 15 games he racked up 12 tackles. He was a part of the Super Bowl XLVI winning team. In the next three seasons with the Giants, he racked up 104 tackles in 47 games. In the 2014 season, he got his first and only NFL career sack. [5]

Miami Dolphins

Paysinger signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins on April 2, 2015. [6] He was re-signed by the Dolphins on March 31, 2016. [7]

New York Jets

On June 9, 2017, Paysinger was signed by the New York Jets. He was released on September 1, 2017 before the season started.

Carolina Panthers

On December 5, 2017, Paysinger signed with the Carolina Panthers. He played in three games, before being released by the team on December 29, 2017. He then retired from football. [8]

NFL career statistics

Legend
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2011 NYG 150121110.00000000100
2012 NYG 1633927120.02000001100
2013 NYG 1610746591.00000010100
2014 NYG 151151230.00000000000
2015 MIA 1402515100.00000000000
2016 MIA 1535942170.00000030200
2017 CAR 300000.00000000000
9417224172521.02000041500

Playoffs

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2011 NYG 403210.00000000000
2016 MIA 102200.00000000000
505410.00000000000

Television series

Paysingers's life and career served as inspiration for the 2018 The CW series All American where he is a consulting producer and has a minor role as assistant football coach at Beverly Hills High. [9] Paysinger said of the show “It’s immensely important. I know it’s a CW drama, but for the bones of it to center on football, that is something that I take pride in.” [10]

At the beginning of each episode it states that the show was inspired by true events and hence Paysinger's life but the show takes creative control and while the main story is based on Paysinger's life the actual details are tweaked.

References

  1. Perkins, Chris. "Dolphins LB Spencer Paysinger lived in South Central city, but attended Beverly Hills High". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  2. Kim, Hayden. "Spencer Paysinger, Oregon Ducks Senior, on Becoming a Leader". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  3. "Miami Dolphins linebacker Spencer Paysinger finds his spot in South L.A." latimes.com/. October 6, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  4. "PREP FOOTBALL: Beverly Hills coach Paysinger tackles Hawthorne job". dailybreeze.com. February 22, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  5. "Spencer Paysinger Career Stats". NFL.com . Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  6. Orr, Conor (April 2, 2015). "Miami Dolphins sign Spencer Paysinger". NFL.com. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  7. "PRESS RELEASE: Dolphins Make Roster Moves". MiamiDolphins.com. March 31, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  8. Heitner, Darren. "After 7 Years In The NFL, Spencer Paysinger Is Showing Off His Skill Off The Field". Forbes. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  9. "An NFL player had an idea. Now it's a TV show with Taye Diggs". October 17, 2018.
  10. "Ex-Giant Paysinger gets TV show about his life". Newsday. Retrieved November 8, 2019.