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#22 Nelson Spruce
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Westlake Village, Calif.
High School: Westlake
Experience: 1 Letter

AT COLORADO: This Season (Fr.-RS)-Enters the fall listed first at the 'Z' receiver position.  He is coming off a good spring and is poised to take advantage of the fact that he is one of just three returning receivers on scholarship to have a breakout year.

2011 (Fr.)-Redshirted; practiced at wide receiver the entire fall.

HIGH SCHOOL-As a senior, he earned PrepStar All-America honors, with the publication ranking him the No. 60 player overall in the nation on its Top 150 Dream Team.  SuperPrep placed him on its All-Far West team and ranked him the No. 64 player in the region, the ninth wide receiver.  Scout.com ranked him the No. 95 wide receiver in the nation, the 10th best from California (as well as the No. 10 wide receiver in the West on another listing).  He earned first-team All-CIF Northern Division and first-team All-Area (Los Angeles Daily News) honors at wide receiver both his junior and senior seasons and was named All-State by Cal-Hi Sports at wide receiver as a junior and a second-team all-purpose performer as a senior.  The Los Angeles Times selected him a first-team All-Star at receiver (junior) and defensive (senior).  He was named to the Ventura County All-Decade team at receiver; he was also first-team All-Ventura County as a junior and senior, the latter year being named the Defensive Back of the Year in the county.  He was the Marmonte League Wide Receiver of the Year both his junior and senior seasons and was a second-team selection at defensive back as a sophomore.  He was the co-MVP for Westlake both his junior and senior years after he was named the Most Improved Player his sophomore season.  For his career, he had 149 receptions for 2,795 yards and 37 touchdowns, 12 games with 100 or more yards, caught at least three passes in 26 of 28 games his final two years (with at least seven receptions seven times) and scored multiple touchdowns 11 times.  He was just the third receiver at Westlake to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.  He also returned 23 punts for 462 yards and two touchdowns.  On defense, he had 141 tackles (88 solo), eight interceptions, eight pass break-ups and one forced fumble.  As a senior, he caught 73 passes for 1,292 yards and 18 touchdowns and returned 15 punts for 236 yards (15.7 per return) and a score, impressive numbers considering he played in the second half in just four of 14 games.  On defense in spot duty, he had 31 tackles (19 solo) with three pass break-ups and two interceptions.  As a junior, he had 65 receptions for 1,325 yards and 18 touchdowns on offense.  He returned eight punts for 226 yards (28.3 average) with one touchdown; three returns covered over 50 yards.  On defense, he had 54 tackles (32 solo) and two interceptions.  His sophomore season, he played primarily on defense and had 56 tackles (37 solo), four interceptions, five pass break-ups and a forced fumble.  On offense, he had 11 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown with one rush for 15 yards.  Top games his senior year: in a 31-12 win against Oaks Christian he caught seven passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns; in a 32-31 loss to St. Bonaventure, he matched his career high with nine catches for 133 yards (2 TDs) with an interception and seven tackles (but in a playoff rematch won by Westlake, he had seven receptions for 132 yards and a score); in a 49-28 win over Palos Verdes in the playoffs, he caught five balls for 131 yard and three TDs.  In his first career start at receiver in his junior season opener, he caught five passes for a career-high 233 yards (46.6 average) with four touchdowns, including a 94-yarder, in a 48-26 win over Paso Robles.  Other top games as a junior: he had nine catches for 196 yards (21.8 per, 2 TDs) and seven tackles in a 31-27 win over Newbury Park; in a 49-27 win over Ventura, he had five receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns, one covering 71 yards; in a 17-7 playoff win over St. Bonaventure, he had a career-high eight tackles and two interceptions on defense while catching three passes for 40 yards; and in a 14-10 win over Moorpark in CIF championship game, he had seven receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown and five tackles.  Under coach Jim Benkert, Westlake compiled a 33-7 record his time there, including a perfect 14-0 mark his junior season and 12-2 mark as a senior with a 22-game win streak over the course of those two seasons.  He also lettered in baseball, earning All-Marmonte League honors as a third baseman his sophomore season when he batted .400; he played shortstop as a junior (did not play as a senior).

ACADEMICS-He is majoring in Business (sequence undecided) at Colorado.  He was named to the All-Ventura League Academic Team as a senior for maintaining a 3.8 or above grade point average. 

PERSONAL-He was born December 5, 1992 in Venice Beach, Calif.  His hobbies include playing golf (he's a scratch player), Xbox, lifting weights and working out.  He did some community service work in high school with his baseball team, working with the local Little League.  


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