Usage / Role
28%
Rotational offensive role
lowfeatured
Player Dossier
2016-2019Northern Illinois
Spencer Tears
WR • 6'1" • 195 lbs • Chicago, IL, USA
Reliable chain-moverPossession profile
Spencer Tears reads as a reliable chain-mover based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Impact Production
52
Solid production for a receiver
lowelite
Reliability
70
Reliable weekly contributor
lowhigh
Star Power
45
Limited ceiling signals so far
limitedstar
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by Season Value: 2017 Postseason · Northern Illinois
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Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Unique Seasons
- 4
- Program Path
- Northern Illinois
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Western Michigan
Player Story
Spencer Tears built his college career from 2016 through 2019 as a wide receiver from Chicago, IL wearing No. 14, spending time with Northern Illinois. The clearest part of Spencer Tears' career was his receiving...
Read the story3★
- Committed To
- South Alabama
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2022
Spencer Tears, WR. Best season Best season by Season Value: 2017 Postseason · Northern Illinois. Spencer Tears reads as a reliable chain-mover based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Stat Footprint
Career production snapshot
- Receiving yards
- 1,273
- Receptions
- 101
- Touchdowns
- 11
Quick Answers
Spencer Tears quick answers
- Latest team and position
- Northern Illinois · WR
- Career Receiving Yards
- 1,273
- Tracked sample
- 4 unique seasons · 6 entries · 35 games
- Best season
- 2017 Postseason · Northern Illinois
- Top game
- Western Michigan
- Recruit profile
- 3-star · Live Oak · South Alabama
- High school pipeline
- Live Oak · 1 FBS recruit · 0 drafted players
- Latest roster
- No. 14 · Senior
- 2019 Receiving yards rank
- 370 receiving yards · WR 303rd (top 30%) · Mid-American 37th (top 21%) · National 349th (top 18%)
Season Ledger
Crawlable season-by-season stats
| Season | Team | Games | Rec | Rec Yds | TD | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 22.9 |
| 2017 Postseason | Northern Illinois | 13 | 4 | 67 | 0 | 74.2 |
| 2017 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 13 | 39 | 461 | 4 | 74.2 |
| 2018 Postseason | Northern Illinois | 11 | - | 0 | 0 | 60.8 |
| 2018 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 11 | 34 | 372 | 5 | 60.8 |
| 2019 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 9 | 23 | 370 | 2 | 55.7 |
Related Context
Keep exploring Spencer Tears
Spencer Tears played WR for Northern Illinois. Across 4 tracked seasons, Spencer Tears recorded 7 rushing yards, 1,273 receiving yards, and 3 tackles. His top tracked season came in 2017 with Northern Illinois.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2017 Postseason
Northern Illinois paired 528 primary output with 73.5 efficiency.
Supporting note
2017 Postseason role shape
target-driven usage with 73.5 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value cooled off
2019 Regular Season fell back from the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: San Diego State
Loss with an explosive receiving profile. It landed in the 100th percentile of the selected season.
Analysis workspace
Season Workbench
Filter the strongest season sample, inspect game-level shape, and then drop into the full log without losing the story of the year.
Season Explorer
Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.
2017 Postseason · Northern Illinois
Games
13
Receiving Yards / G
40.6
Efficiency
73.5
Usage
18.5
Consistency
61.8
Best Game by takeover score
San Diego State
Hover a point or expand a game row to keep the active game context visible here.
Active game
Hover over a point
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Game-by-Game Trend
Follow how the selected stat changes from one game to the next. Spikes mark standout outings, while dips show quieter weeks.
Chronological game order.
Game by game trend chart. Duke: 67. Boston College: 29. Eastern Illinois: 61. Nebraska: -3. San Diego State: 105. Kent State: 25. Buffalo: 31. Bowling Green: 42. Eastern Michigan: 40. Toledo: 63. Ball State: 15. Western Michigan: 12. Central Michigan: 41
Volume vs Efficiency
Each dot is a game. Farther right means the player carried more of the workload, and higher means they were more efficient with those chances.
Low volumeHigh quality
High volumeHigh quality
Low volumeLower quality
High volumeLower quality
Volume on the x-axis, quality on the y-axis.
Volume versus efficiency scatter chart. Duke: 4 by 100. Boston College: 3 by 64.4. Eastern Illinois: 4 by 100. Nebraska: 2 by 0. San Diego State: 5 by 100. Kent State: 3 by 55.6. Buffalo: 5 by 41.3. Bowling Green: 3 by 93.3. Eastern Michigan: 4 by 66.7. Toledo: 3 by 100. Ball State: 1 by 100. Western Michigan: 1 by 80. Central Michigan: 5 by 54.7
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
Wins27.9 · Games = 8 · -33.1 vs Losses
Losses61 · Games = 5 · +33.1 vs Wins
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
13 games
Featured metric
Receiving Yards
Top game by takeover score
San Diego State
Best efficiency game
100 vs Duke
| Result | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 12/26 | vs Duke | L 14-36 | — | 4 | 67 | 13 | 16.80 | 0 | 43 |
| Fri 11/24 | @ Central Michigan | L 24-31 | — | 5 | 41 | 8.2 | 8.20 | 0 | 15 |
| Thu 11/16 | vs Western Michigan | W 35-31 | — | 1 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Fri 11/10 | vs Ball State | W 63-17 | — | 1 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Thu 11/2 | @ Toledo | L 17-27 | — | 3 | 63 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 30 |
| Thu 10/26 | vs Eastern Michigan | W 30-27 | — | 4 | 40 | 7.4 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| Sat 10/21 | @ Bowling Green | W 48-17 | — | 3 | 42 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 15 |
| Sat 10/14 | @ Buffalo | W 14-13 | — | 5 | 31 | 6.2 | 6.20 | 0 | 10 |
| Sat 10/7 | vs Kent State | W 24-3 | — | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 8.30 | 1 | 10 |
| Sun 10/1 | @ San Diego State100 receiving yards | L 28-34 | — | 5 | 105 | 15 | 21 | 1 | 81 |
| Sat 9/16 | @ Nebraska | W 21-17 | — | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | -1.50 | 0 | 5 |
| Sat 9/9 | vs Eastern Illinois | W 38-10 | — | 4 | 61 | 15.3 | 15.30 | 1 | 39 |
| Sat 9/2 | vs Boston College | L 20-23 | — | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 9.70 | 0 | 14 |
Player Story
Spencer Tears story
Spencer Tears built his college career from 2016 through 2019 as a wide receiver from Chicago, IL wearing No. 14, spending time with Northern Illinois. The clearest part of Spencer Tears' career was his receiving role: 101 catches, 1,273 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns, and 7 rushing yards across 35 career games in the available record. His largest box-score season came in 2017 with Northern Illinois. Those numbers show where he fit, how often the ball or action found him, and how his role developed over time.
The value of the career arc is that it connects production to role, not just a name on a roster. His career also includes 7 rushing yards and 3 tackles, giving the story more than a single-category snapshot. With 35 career games in the available record, his career has enough shape to show both opportunity and production across Northern Illinois.
The arc is straightforward: Spencer Tears moved through the depth chart, found a larger role, and turned that opportunity into production that can be understood through standard football numbers.
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
Northern Illinois
2016-2019
Opening stop
Season Value Progression
201620172017201820182019
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 3 | 20 | 6.3 | — |
| 2017 Postseason | Northern Illinois | 528 | 73.5 | 18.5 | 525 |
| 2017 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 528 | 73.5 | 18.5 | 0 |
| 2018 Postseason | Northern Illinois | 372 | 69.4 | 19.7 | -156 |
| 2018 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 372 | 69.4 | 19.7 | 0 |
| 2019 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 370 | 63.6 | 14.1 | -2 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
@ Western Michigan
Week 13 · L 21-28 · Conference game
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
84
Receiving Yards
97.8 takeover
84 receiving yards with a 93.3 efficiency score.
#2
vs Miami (OH)
Week 12 · L 7-13 · Conference game
74
Receiving Yards
95.6 takeover
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
74 receiving yards with a 98.7 efficiency score.
#3
@ Utah
Week 2 · L 17-35
112
Receiving Yards
93.1 takeover
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
112 receiving yards with a 100 efficiency score.
#4
@ San Diego State
Week 5 · L 28-34
105
Receiving Yards
90.8 takeover
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
105 receiving yards with a 100 efficiency score.
#5
@ Buffalo
Week 14 · W 30-29 · Conference game
73
Receiving Yards
87.8 takeover
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
73 receiving yards with a 81.1 efficiency score.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by Season Value
2017 Postseason · Northern Illinois
528 primary output · 73.5 efficiency · 18.5 usage
74.2
#2
2017 Regular Season · Northern Illinois
74.2
528 primary · 73.5 efficiency · 18.5 usage
#3
2018 Postseason · Northern Illinois
60.8
372 primary · 69.4 efficiency · 19.7 usage
Milestones
3
100+ receiving yards
0
8+ catch outings
1
2+ TD games
Next best actions
Keep exploring Spencer Tears
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