Glenn Spencer - Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs/Recruiting Coordinator - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Glenn Spencer

Title:
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs/Recruiting Coordinator
Email:
Phone:
(919) 684-2635

Glenn Spencer is in his fourth year as an aide with the Duke football program, serving as Assistant Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. He spent his first three years tutoring the Blue Devil defensive backs and will work with the inside linebackers in 2007.

Duke head coach Ted Roof and Spencer were teammates at Georgia Tech in the mid-1980s.

"The primary reason I’m here is Ted Roof," Spencer said at the time of his hiring in December of 2003. "We played at Georgia Tech together and we’ve been through a lot together on and off the field. He’s like a brother to me. I respect him so much as a human being that I know I’m not making a bad decision in coming here."

Spencer’s inside linebacker corps features the Blue Devils’ top tackler from each of the past two seasons in junior Michael Tauiliili. A native of Houston, Texas, Tauiliili had 94 stops a year ago after making 92 tackles en route to earning first team Freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News in 2005.

Junior Tim Ball and sophomore Vincent Rey are the top candidates to start for the Blue Devils at weak side linebacker. Ball was credited for 18 tackles last season while Rey, playing in a reserve role as a true freshman, had 12 total stops.

As Duke’s defensive backs coach from 2004-06, Spencer was instrumental in the development of two-time first team All-ACC cornerback John Talley. Twice named Duke’s Most Valuable Player, Talley finished his career as Duke’s all-time leader in interceptions (18), interception return yards (395), pass breakups (33), average yards per interception return (21.9), and interception returns for touchdowns (3). Talley, who signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s Washington Redskins in the spring of 2007, is the ACC’s record-holder for interception return yardage while ranking second on the league’s all-time list for interceptions.

On the recruiting front, Duke’s class that signed in February of 2005 was ranked 31st nationally by Scout.com. The 2006 class checked in as the 36th-top group in the country and the 2007 class was tied for 64th according to the same organization.

In 2002 and 2003, Spencer coached the defensive line at his alma mater and coached a pair of All-ACC selections in Eric Henderson (first team; ACC leader in quarterback sacks) and Travis Parker (honorable mention) as well as Freshman All-America selection Mansfield Wrotto.

In 2001, Spencer coached Georgia Tech’s running backs, tutoring All-ACC tailback Joe Burns, who became just the fifth 1,000-yard rusher in Georgia Tech history. During his three seasons on the Tech staff, Spencer helped the Yellow Jackets to a 21-17 overall record with postseason berths in the Seattle Bowl (2001), Silicon Valley Football Classic (2002) and Humanitarian Bowl (2003).

Prior to his coaching stint at Georgia Tech, Spencer spent 11 seasons at West Georgia including a successful three-year run as head coach from 1998-00. As the head coach of the Braves, Spencer compiled a ledger of 28-7 with two Gulf South Conference championships (1998 & 2000) and a pair of NCAA Division II playoff appearances (1998 & 2000).

As the head coach at West Georgia, Spencer sandwiched a pair of 10-2 seasons in 1998 and 2000 around an 8-3 mark in 1999. He earned NCAA Division II Region Coach of the Year honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in 1998 and departed the school with a Gulf South Conference-record .800 winning percentage.

Spencer began his coaching career as an assistant coach at West Georgia in 1990. He coached the defensive line and linebackers for seven years before taking over as defensive coordinator in 1997, when the Braves captured the school’s first Gulf South Conference crown while establishing a school single-season record for fewest points allowed.

A 43-year old native of Douglasville, Ga., Spencer graduated from Lithia Springs High School before lettering four seasons as a defensive tackle at Georgia Tech from 1982-85. He helped the Yellow Jackets to a 24-19-2 record including a 9-2-1 ledger and a 17-14 All American Bowl victory over Michigan State in his final season.

Spencer, who received a bachelor’s degree in management from Georgia Tech in 1987, is married to the former Angela Folds of Carrollton, Ga., and the couple has two sons, Luke (12) and Abraham (9).