Jimmy Spencer (American football)

James Arthur Spencer, Jr. (born March 29, 1969) is a former American college and professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1990s and early 2000s. Spencer played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos of the NFL.

Early years
Spencer was born in Manning, South Carolina. He attended Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Florida, and he played high school football for the Glades Central Raiders.

College career
Spencer received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Galen Hall and coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football teams from 1988 to 1990. Memorably, in 1990, he blocked a punt late in the fourth quarter, which Richard Fain recovered and returned twenty-five yards for a touchdown and providing the margin of victory in the Gators' 17–13 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide In Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Spencer decided to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility after his junior season in 1990, and made himself eligible for the NFL Draft.

Professional career
The Washington Redskins selected Spencer in the eighth round (215th pick overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft. Spencer played for the New Orleans Saints from 1992 to 1995, the Cincinnati Bengals in 1996 and 1997, the San Diego Chargers in 1998 and 1999, and the Denver Broncos from 2000 to 2003. Statistically, his best seasons were 1994, 1995 and 1996, when he was a regular starter for New Orleans and then Cincinnati.

In his twelve NFL seasons, Spencer played in 177 regular season games, and started eighty-one of them. He finished his NFL career with twenty-six interceptions, two touchdown returns, eight fumble recoveries and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.

In 2003, Spencer worked as an assistant defensive back coach with the Broncos in addition to playing, making him the first simultaneous player/coach in the NFL since Dan Reeves in 1972.