He's a goofy kid with serious talent. Christian Brothers High School's senior tight end, Spencer Webb, is in the high school football spotlight. But only after making it through some dark years.
"When I first met Spencer, I was at Sac State and we were recruiting him," Christian Brothers Head Football Coach Tyler Almond said. "Through the recruitment process you hear a lot of different stories but Spencer definitely had a unique on. Just talking to him you'd never know what he's been through or where he's come because he's just so happy go lucky."
At 6'6" and 235 pounds, the 17-year-old can make the crazy catch and he can get after the quarterback.
"He's got some good genes in that regard," Spencer's brother Cody said. "He struggles with some bad genes in the substance department and that's how God deals you your hands."
"My mom walked out on me when I was very young," Spencer explained. "They had substance abuse problems so that was pretty tough. My dad had substance abuse issues so he left me but he came back. I respect him for that. I look at my brother as my dad."
That's because Spencer's 32-year-old brother, Cody, has been his legal guardian for the last four years.
"We talked about it as a family with me and Alicia and we were only dating," Cody said.
"It got decided in one night," Alicia Webb explained. "He (Cody) said 'what do you think?' and we had talked about it before and it was kind of like 'okay, I'll clean out the spare bedroom and we'll go get him' and he moved in the next day."
"I woke up in Dixon and I went to sleep in West Sacramento," Spencer said. "My life changed just like that and just to know my brother had my back and understood... It's been amazing living with my brother. The person I love, my guardian angel, my rock it's just cool."
"I think Cody's a saint or close to sainthood," Almond said. "He's really saved Spencer's life."
Cody and his wife, Alicia, helped Spencer sort through depression and challenged him not only as a student athlete but as a son.
"I wouldn't trade it for probably anything now," Alicia said. "(I was) 26 when he moved in at 13 and I'm thinking 'what the heck am I going to do and how do I do this?'"
The Webbs are their own unique little family but Cody and Alicia say it took a village to help mold Spencer into the resilient young man he's become. Four years ago, Spencer was unfocused and his grades were suffering, but now he had a 3.4 GPA and preparing to play football at his dream school - the University of Oregon.
Spencer was in the car with his brother Cody when he received the news that he was offered a scholarship. Spencer received offers from 12 other schools including Cal, Oregon State, Sacramento State, and three Ivy League schools.
"I was about to go into zero period weights and I just sat there for a second and I was like 'wow, my dream school just called and offered me a full ride scholarship, this is amazing,'" Spencer recalled.
"It's come a long way and we're really proud of him," Cody said. "Once it's over, may that be after college or if the NFL does present itself, we're going to sit back and go through everything and enjoy it forever so we're excited about that. But it's business right now."
Cody and Alicia took Spencer under their wing. But soon the future Oregon Duck will be finding his own way. In being more open about his upbringing and family dynamic Spencer hopes to encourage others who are going through a similar experience. If or when football ends for Spencer, he hopes to become a coach to inspire the next generation.
"Work hard and dream big," Spencer said as his message to younger aspiring athletes.
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