Dashawn Spears has come a long way from the skinny little kid returning his first interception in youth ball the wrong direction.
The Denham Springs native is now a veteran playmaker for a “lights-out” LSU defense with countless interceptions under his belt, including his record-setting junior season for the Yellow Jackets and a pair against Florida last season for the Tigers.
And, on Saturday, the 6-foot-3, 208-pound safety/star was a major spark-plug in helping the home team preserve a tight lead in the third quarter and blow open an eventual 45-14 rout of Louisiana Tech.
The local product who has consistently reflected on his pride in representing the home-state program was the perfect player to spotlight in this week’s “Monday Morning Moms & Dads” with his mother, Noel Spears, who shared her anxiety and excitement in watching her son and his teammates.
Dashawn recovered nicely on a pivotal fourth-down to break up a would-be Bulldogs touchdown, preserve his Tigers’ lead and return the ball to his offense.
He hurried Louisiana Tech quarterback Blake Baker on the next possession to help force an interception to teammate D.J. Pickett, and then he sacked Baker for a 10-yard loss on the Bulldogs’ next third down to force a punt.
LSU turned the three subsequent possessions into 18 points to help swiftly stretch a 13-7 advantage — which the critical fourth-down play could have erased — into a 31-7 lead and relative cruise control the rest of the way.
The Tigers hit the road this week for the first time this season with a 6:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Ole Miss.
Make sure to visit the Louisiana vs. All Y’all channel on YouTube to keep up with all the “Monday Morning Moms & Dads” episodes throughout the football season — and potentially beyond — as well as other interviews, highlights and more.
