Spencer Webb: A Beloved Teammate and Friend

Since Wednesday Oregon players, coaches, fans and folks that knew Spencer Webb have continued to be rocked by his death.

By all accounts Spencer Webb was incredibly loved by those close to him and constantly referred to as a very positive person to be around.

He was a great person that defied all odds to get to this point.

Long live spencer webb pic.twitter.com/cIxt5pVYRA

— 💔 (@jumpahs) July 14, 2022

And I think that’s what made him such an engaging person. Everyone who knew him and knew his story, knew this is a guy that had every reason to quit or be angry. And he never did.

I didn’t know Spencer Webb the way his teammates and coaches did. Those were the ones ‘in the foxhole’ with them. That knew his trials. Knew his triumphs and the special things that made him who he was.

So instead of me trying to come up with words for Spencer, that would never begin to do him justice, I asked them.

Now keep in mind, some folks are still grieving. So not everyone was ready to share a story. And that’s completely understandable.

But we were able to get some really good stuff back from those that knew him and knew him well.

Here are their stories or thoughts on Spencer, word for word. We have not altered their responses (other than general punctuation/spelling) in any way.

Isaah Crocker – Wide Receiver for Oregon Football

Spencer to me was a brother, growing up together playing 7 on 7 together truly made me find the real in him. I started to get to know him more and understand his purpose of why he does what he does. Spencer was family… from meeting him in hs to agreeing that we both are a package deal here at oregon. Our goal and mission was to make to to the nfl as brothers and see where our life was headed beyond football. When we got here we had our ups and downs but yet I still knew he was my brother and I still felt connected with him no matter what the situations were. When I was in a dark hole he was the one to upheld me and bring me out and it was vice versa to him. If you knew him he was a special one. The big guy loved kids and that’s what we wanted to do together was give back to Sacramento and our community. That’s why we connected so well and became brothers instantly.

We had so much in common together yet so much ahead for both of us. Its just sad that we reached a milestone in our life but we were not able to see the next. I wasn’t able to see my brother graduate but he was there for mine. The fact that he had so much ahead of him is what burns and shatters me. Seeing him everyday he was on the right path and headed in the right direction. Our memories together will never faded because we’ve been through too much to get to where we were at and there was no quitting in us. I will never forget the times where I was deep in thoughts of my lost mother and he was there. He had the same issues.

The legacy of Spencer Webb will forever be with me.

And I promise to him that I will continue this journey and keep our dream alive that we had when we were kids. He was just unlucky enough to fulfill that dream. He now is here with me. Yet I cannot wait to make him, the city of Sacramento, my mother, and my family proud. Love -6 

Kenny Farr – Equipment manager for Oregon Football

After the 2020 Rose Bowl Spence came in my office to fill out the sizing information for his Rose Bowl ring. One of the options is to have a personal message inscribed on the inside of the ring. When we got to that part Spence looked around and thought about it and blurted it out “SPIDOBLOOD”   When I heard that I automatically thought it was a play on his last name Webb and nickname Spider. When I asked him he told me this story about being a little kid and climbing everything around his house and he had a natural ability to catch everything. Because of this his grandfather told him he had SpidoBlood in his veins.

Terrance “Coach T” Leonard founder of TMP Elite Sports

I met Spencer playing a HS game vs my JV Team his Freshman year. From that day forward Spence had a special ability to navigate life & sports lessons from being a TMP Product equally as Mentee & Mentor to the many TMP family members who would visit Oregon to become Ducks.

Spencer proudly called me Uncle T & listened to me as Coach T. From the moment Spence became a Duck he spun a Webb around the program by having a huge Social media presence early on and being the most energetic game day sideline team towel fanatic & became the big catch TD play contributor. Spencer is a Duck that Will Ball Forever in our Hearts.

 #4 Spencer “Spider” Webb Love you son TMP 

 Duck 4 Life Uncle Coach T  

Cameron McCormick – Oregon Football Tight End

My favorite memory of Spencer would be the very first game he was able to play in as a collegiate athlete. He was on punt return, and he kept telling me how nervous he was and how he didn’t want to mess anything up. The play happened and Spence split the wedge and hit the punter. He actually got in and got a penalty. I remember him coming to the sideline mad at himself, but also laughing from the realization his first play actually was called for a penalty! Ha!

It sticks out, because that is just who Spencer was – he never took anything too seriously and could always laugh at himself. There are so many great stories of Spencer, it’s hard to just pick one. That’s the type of guy he was. I remember his excitement he had every year to finally get to play a season with me and it was always cut short.

Finally, against Ohio State we shared that moment with each other. Two brothers, who had been through it all, happy to see each other doing well. Spencer has grown so much since when he first stepped foot on campus at the UofO. He was a young kid from Sacramento who didn’t know his way. Being a TE, I took Spencer under my wing, and, for a while, we didn’t get along because how different he was and how different we were from each other.

When I decided to sit down and really learn about who Spencer was and how he got here is when our relationship really started to build. I would say our bond became unbreakable. He’d call me late at night to figure out when football was the next day or just call me to tell me about the crazy day or weekend he had. I heard from Spencer all throughout the day, everyday.

I started to describe Spencer as “just Spencer,” because of all the crazy things he did. He’s one of a kind, authentic, genuine, and a loving person when you really open up to him. He would do anything for anyone. What I will miss the most about Spencer is all of the conversations that we shared with each other on how he could grow as a person and how he was the one to break the cycle in his family. I was excited where Spencer had come and where he was headed before he left us way too soon. We always said we had each other’s backs, but now he has mine a little bit more.

Rest in Love, Spence! ⁃ Cam

Drew Mehringer – Oregon Football TE Coach

Spence smiled all the time. Didn’t matter what was happening. Didn’t matter what he was doing, how he was feeling, or what was going on. He smiled. It was infectious.

He loved kids. He would go out of his way and to make their day. He would take pictures, record TikToks, sign autographs, or anything else. Sometimes it was a little too much. I caught him taking pictures in the middle of the spring game with some kids. It certainly wasn’t the right time to be doing that, but he couldn’t resist making those kids’ day. When I asked him what he was doing, he just had the biggest smile and said, “trying to make to make a difference…”

That’s where his heart was. He wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. He wanted to be a positive influence. He was a special person that truly cared about people.

Wilson Love – Oregon Head Football S&C Coach

Spencer always shined light on everyone around him even when times seemed dark. I loved his daily facetime calls talking about everything you can imagine. I really miss those calls. He had an incredible gift to bring joy to everyone. He made me a better coach & person.

He made Oregon better.

Ken Wilson – Head Football Coach at Nevada (Formerly at Oregon)  

Hop, the thing I remember most about Spencer was his infectious personality and love of life. Spencer had a way of being able to adapt to any situation and be comfortable in any room he walked into. People naturally gravitated to him. I always loved his confidence and swagger. Spencer felt like he could be the best player on the field at any position. He used to joke that he was the best LB on the team and at the same time he would challenge me that he was going to wear out the LB’s at practice.

I loved his spirit and energy.

He came from NorCal and we had a lot of common friends and people we knew, so we always had great conversations.

Finally, he was one of the best teammates I have ever been around. Always willing to help anyone. Even after I left Oregon, Spencer would FaceTime me and give me recruits that he thought could help us at Nevada!

This one hurt and I will miss him, as will everyone who knew him!

Terrance Ferguson – Oregon Football Tight End

When I first got to Oregon Spence and I were as close as you could get we pretty much did everything together. I have a lot of great memories with Spence from teaching me how to swim to giving my lil brother a bowl cut after the spring game.

We had a lot of wild adventures together and he always had my back no matter what like a big brother. Anytime you were with Spence you had fun.

Love you big bro.

Jay Butterfield – Oregon Football Quarterback

Spencer was such a genuine, authentic person and that was the best thing about him. He didn’t care about what others had to say about him and he was always himself. His smile was so contagious through the good and bad times which made him very easy to be around. When I first got to Oregon, he was one of the first people I talked to since he is also from California. He was the first person that I threw with and I felt we had a special bond. He will surely be missed by many people, including me and the rest of his brothers on the team.

We all love you Spida🕷❤️

Cyrus Habibi-Likio – Boise State Running Back (Former Oregon RB)

What’s up! Thank you so much for including me it’s an honor. Everyone knew he had a lot of tattoos. I’ll never forget when he got his rib tattoo. He called me every 20 minutes on FaceTime because he was in so much pain. He had a few hours left and I remember stopping whatever I was doing that day just to talk him through it. When he was in pain He would always come to me first or even when he was down or feelings were hurt. We would have many talks about becoming a mature young man and how to carry ourselves in certain situations. I was finally seeing everything we talked about in him a few months ago. It was all coming along so well and I am so proud of him for overcoming all of his hardships.

David Gilbertson – Akron WR Coach (Former Oregon Analyst)

Hey J Hop thanks for reaching out. I’ll give you a glimpse in to who he was as a person that people might not know. This is hard to write but here it goes: Spence loved to be around people, especially his friends, teammates, and coaches.

When the Covid quarantines first started, all football activities were canceled. Everyone was working from home, and we didn’t see the players in person for months, just on Zoom. One evening out of the blue Spencer drove over to my house and parked in the driveway with his window rolled down. I stood a few feet away and we just talked for a while. He just wanted to check in face to face, see how me and my wife were doing, and let me know about the road trip he had planned for summer break.

Spencer had a unique ability to connect with people because he genuinely cared about people.

Bennett Williams – Oregon Football Safety

We lost a brother, friend, teammate, role model, and inspiration to so many. Spencer had the biggest heart, and he showed that through his connection with people. Many of my teammates have shared how he was the first one they ever met when they first got to Oregon, and that’s not by coincidence. He put himself out there; whatever it was, he always went for it. I’m convinced there’s not a person on this earth he couldn’t connect with and make smile.

I’m so glad I got to really see and know Spencer like family. On my birthday this year, Spence spent the entire day with me, and made it one of the most memorable times of my life. We had times in which we fought and times in which we battled through struggle side by side, and that brought us closer than ever. I know you’ll continue to show us the way Spence, one way or another, with that light that shines inside you. Yesterday, you told me you had to tell me something.

I’ll come hear you out soon.  I love you brother!