Spencer Waege, DE/DT, NDSU (UDFA)

One of the most impressive players from rookie minicamp so far has been Spencer Waege. He's 6'5 and 300 pounds. Waege had 9 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in his final season at NDSU. I've heard he had the second fastest 10 yard split among defensive tackles.







Discuss.

Listen at 17:55

300 lbs with GTFO juice

Doesn't look like 300. Wheres the belly? Why undrafted?

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:
Doesn't look like 300. Wheres the belly? Why undrafted?

I think he's truly 300 with the large 6'5 frame. He tore his acl at least once and I think he's older than most rookies.

If he's even a little like Justin Smith....

Wow I know a mod who only looks at prospects from the dakotas and he missed this guy.

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:
Doesn't look like 300. Wheres the belly? Why undrafted?

I think he's truly 300 with the large 6'5 frame. He tore his acl at least once and I think he's older than most rookies.

Actually the older the more pro-ready in my opinion.

Its tantalizng that he's 300 pounds and looks athletic, well proportioned.

. There has to be a catch.

Originally posted by Waterbear:


Listen at 17:55

Thanks for this one.

Worth listening to the whole thing.

His athletic profile is off the charts for his size. After digging deep into his history and other metrics, he probably was graded by most as a late round 6th-7th.

The things that I expect knocked him down were:

Only 32" arms

Level of competition

Season ending knee injury in 2021

Just turned 24

Only one season of stellar production.


That said, I don't care about any of these "issues". If you have talent, you have talent. While he had valid reasons for going undrafted, he showed he has the tools to potentially make it in the NFL. He has fantastic get-off and seemed to show good hands this season. All you can ask is a guy improves over time and he did that at NDSU.

Could be a hidden gem though on a team like ours. Clearly has the physical tools, it just depends if he can adjust to the NFL level.

Since we didn't have any draft picks in 1st 2 rds, our draft is composed of those who we called blue collared players. Non superstars non divas players with chip on their shoulders and who know how to be humble and with plenty of things to prove. They're kinda lucky for coming to a team with outstanding culture and plenty of veterans who are willing to mentor. Waege, with Bosa, Armstead, and Hargrave to guide him, hopefully, he becomes the next Justin Smith. If it happens, it would be another great 49er story to tell.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Wow I know a mod who only looks at prospects from the dakotas and he missed this guy.

Waege was a fine if unspectacular player. A tweener that mostly played DE, he might be able to hold down the Omenihu role if he makes the cut in training camp.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Wow I know a mod who only looks at prospects from the dakotas and he missed this guy.

Waege was a fine if unspectacular player. A tweener that mostly played DE, he might be able to hold down the Omenihu role if he makes the cut in training camp.

Does he really weigh 300? That's pretty big for edge

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Wow I know a mod who only looks at prospects from the dakotas and he missed this guy.

Waege was a fine if unspectacular player. A tweener that mostly played DE, he might be able to hold down the Omenihu role if he makes the cut in training camp.

Do you think he can play inside, similar to Hyder?

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:
Does he really weigh 300? That's pretty big for edge

I don't think he played anywhere near 300. NDSU had him listed at 280 and i wouldn't be surprised if he was a little lighter than that. He clearly hit the pre-draft workout regimen hard. He does have the body to hold that weight and he still moves really well at that size clearly.