Nov. 17, 2008
Former Arizona linebacker Spencer Larsen became the first player in Denver Bronco history to start on offense and defense in the same game as he helped lead the Broncos to a victory over the Atlanta Falcons, 24-20, on Sunday. In addition to his duties on both sides of the ball, Larsen also appeared on Denver’s special teams units.
Larsen, who played linebacker for the Wildcats in college, had earned playing time on special teams and at fullback in his rookie season with the Broncos. But as Denver’s depth decreased at Larsen’s natural position of linebacker, it gave the former All-Pac-10 player a chance to play at middle linebacker.
Denver head coach Mike Shanahan said after the game that his team practiced Larsen at both fullback and linebacker throughout the week, but kept part of practices closed to keep Larsen’s move to linebacker a secret. By starting the game at the “Mike” linebacker position and fullback, Larsen became the first NFL player to start on offense and defense since 2003.
At Arizona, Larsen played in 32 games and recorded 271 tackles. He led UA’s defense in 2007 with 131 tackles, including four sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. For his efforts, he was named First Team All-Pac-10 and garnered All-America honors from rivals.com and collegefootballnews.com. He was also named the recipient of the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
To read more about Larsen’s history-making performance in the NFL, click on the links below:
Broncos Rookie Larsen starts at FB and LB – Associated Press
Two-way Larsen a force for Broncos – Atlanta Journal Constitution
AUDIO: Larsen after the game – Atlanta Journal Constitution
Larsen Makes History – DenverBroncos.com
