Called the "heart and soul" of the Arizona defensive unit, opposing offensive coordinators feared the dominant and versatile defender.

Whether lining up at outside linebacker in a 4-3 alignment or playing inside in a 5-2 formation, few teams could contain Larsen with just one blocker.

The two-time team captain made a triumphant return to the gridiron in 2005 after missing the previous two seasons while on a church mission. During his freshman year at Arizona in 2002, the new coaching staff considered his return as an added recruiting bonus. Opposing ballcarriers considered his return a nightmare for fullbacks trying to block him and halfbacks trying to elude him on end-around runs.

At Gilbert High School, Larsen earned Super Prep All-Farwest honors as a senior in 2001. He added Phoenix All-Metro Football accolades, along with Prep Star All-West and the Arizona Republic first-team Al-State recognition.

In his final season, the All-Region co-Defensive Most Valuable Player and All-Southeast Valley choice recorded 124 tackles as a linebacker and also competed as a quarterback. A multi-sport standout, he earned three letters in football, one in baseball and one in track.

Larsen enrolled at the University of Arizona in 2002. He garnered Freshman All-American third-team and All-Pac-10 Conference Freshman first-team honors from The Gridiron Report and The Sports Page. He started seven of 12 games at weak-side linebacker in the team's eagle-flex system. He finished seventh on the team with 41 tackles (30 solo), adding a pair of sacks and 3 ½ stops for losses. He added one quarterback pressure and deflected three passes.

Already recognized as the Wildcats' defensive leader and a favorite of the media, Larsen left the Arizona program for the 2003-04 seasons to serve on an LDS church mission to Chile. The only Mormon player on the Arizona football roster, many thought that Larsen would enroll at Brigham Young.

"Their recruiting coordinator told my high school coach I wasn't a Division I player," he says, smiling. "But I never pictured myself at BYU. So many of the (Mormon) players from Phoenix go there. I wanted to go to a place where nobody knew me, a place where there was no one else like me."

Larsen also found his future wife while away on his church mission. Ann, who attended nursing school at Central Arizona during Spencer's junior year with the Wildcats, attended Gilbert Highland High School with Spencer, although they did not date one another. When he moved to Tucson, she enrolled at Brigham Young. She wrote to Spencer while he was in Chile, but both were involved in somewhat serious relationships with other people.

When Spencer returned in the spring of 2005, they connected and were married in December of that year and the couple welcomed their first son, Tyton, last April. The new coaching staff welcomed Larsen back to the program with open arms in 2005. "I came back because the coaches told me they'd wait for me," he says. "That kind of respect appealed to me. You can't beat that. Plus, I like it here. The guys probably saw me as some sort of square when I was a freshman. Now they probably see me as a regular guy. They know about my faith. I know about theirs. It works."

On the practice field during spring 2005 drills, Larsen suffered a right knee sprain (anterior cruciate ligament) in March, undergoing surgery to repair the injury a month later. That forced him to sit out the team's first two games and he saw limited action until taking over the middle linebacker spot for the team's last six contests.

Despite starting just half of the schedule, he finished fourth on the team with 51 tackles (29 solo), a sack and 2 ½ stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also recovered a fumble and batted away a pass. He also excelled in the classroom, earning Pac-10 Conference Academic second-team honors.

In 2006, Larsen was named All-Pac-10 Conference second-team adding Academic All-Pac-10 first-team and ESPN Academic All-District VII recognition. He started all 12 games for the Wildcats at "Will" linebacker, but also saw action in the middle. He went on to lead the team with 89 tackles (63 solo), coming up with two sacks, 10 ½ stops for losses and three quarterback pressures. He caused three fumbles and recovered three others, returning two for a total of 10 yards. He deflected three passes and had his first career interception.

Serving as the team's captain for the second consecutive year, Larsen put together an All-American season in 2007. He led the team and Pac-10 while finishing 13th in the nation with a career-high 131 tackles (87 solo). He added four sacks and ranked third in the conference with a team-high 15 ½ stops behind the line of scrimmage. He recovered four fumbles, caused three others and registered five quarterback pressures. He also deflected five passes and intercepted another.

In 44 games at Arizona, Larsen started 37 games. His 312 tackles (209 solo) rank 15th on the school's all-time record list. He added nine sacks for minus-62 yards and 32 stops for losses totaling 111 yards. He caused six fumbles and recovered eight others, returning four for a total of 27 yards. He also gained three yards on two interceptions and deflected 12 other tosses while collecting 10 quarterback pressures.

Positives: Has a well-proportioned frame with developing upper-body muscles and good thickness in his thighs and calves, with room to add at least another 10 pounds of bulk without losing quickness … High-motor type who plays with good intensity and aggression … Very alert and active to key and diagnose plays, showing the awareness, vision and instincts to call defensive assignments … Demonstrated much better ability and strength taking on blocks as a senior than he did in the past, as he refined his hand placement and improved his hand technique to prevent the blocker from gaining leverage … More quick than fast, but keeps his pad level down and shows the loose hips to redirect and chase down plays from the backside (see 2007 Southern California, Stanford and Washington games) … Has the power to take on fullbacks and clog the interior rush lanes. Does a nice job of staying on his feet and making plays moving down the line … Has the hip swerve to redirect and close from the outside (looked a bit stiff in his hips earlier in his career, but has shown a quicker flow to the ball as a senior. See 2007 Brigham Young and Stanford games) … Shows the lateral agility to flow with the play, staying low in his stance to extend his arms, wrap and secure the ballcarrier near the line of scrimmage … Unquestioned team leader who will not hesitate to take underperforming teammates to task … Shows no hesitation closing on the ball and is quick to track down ballcarriers, doing a nice job of redirecting the corner runners back inside … Has good tackling form, taking the ballcarrier's outside leg to impede the opponent's forward progress … Rare to see him fooled by misdirection or eye the backfield too long when playing in the zone … Uses his hands with force to jolt the blockers back and also in redirecting and jamming the tight ends at the line … Gets physical when taking on the tight ends, delivering strong hand placement to reroute his man away from the play, as he uses his strength effectively to easily jam the opponent … When he keeps his pads down, he shows the ability to slip through blocks … Combative working through trash, using his hands well to defeat the blockers attacking his feet … Has greatly improved his body control as a senior, as he no longer overextends when attempting to make tackles … Shows aggression filling the rush lane, lowering his head and driving with his legs to engage the fullback … Versatile athlete who can play the "Will" or "Mike" position … Reliable tackler who can break down and face up … Does not have the speed to play in the deep zone, but has the functional quickness to stay with slot receivers and tight ends in the short area … More of a downhill tackler, but is capable of making plays in front of him … Shows good anticipation skills and has developed good rip and swim moves to generate a quick outside blitz … Very intelligent, both on the field and in the classroom … Generally in position to make plays and engages the bigger blockers well, playing at the proper pad level with good knee bend … On the blitz, he has a solid hand jolt to maintain separation knifing through traffic and the closing burst to disrupt the quarterback in the pocket.

Negatives: Active and physical at the line of scrimmage, but must continue to improve his hand punch and keep his hands inside his frame to prevent the bigger blockers from getting underneath his jersey and washing him out of the play … Has good closing speed, but will struggle at times to recover and redirect when he outruns the play … Might be a better fit at the "Mike" position to compensate for a lack of explosive quickness to chase down the perimeter runners going long distances … Plays with great intensity, but will sometimes get too aggressive and get taken out of the play … Shows the functional foot agility to drop back in pass coverage, but does not have the pure speed to stay with the receivers on deep patterns.

Compares To: JAMES FARRIOR-Pittsburgh … Whether playing on the weak side or in the middle, Larsen is a high-intensity type who does a fine job of making plays in front of him. He has great field vision and ball-awareness skills and with his intelligence, he might be a better fit calling defensive signals from the middle. He has made very good strides improving his hand placement and punch as a senior and is relentless in his pursuit of the ball working through traffic.

2005: Suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage in his right knee during spring drills and had surgery in March that forced him to sit out the Utah (9/02), Northern Arizona (9/10) and California games (10/01), while seeing minimal action vs. Purdue (9/17) and Southern California (10/08) clashes.

Campus: 4.68 in the 40-yard dash … 2.69 20-yard dash … 1.62 10-yard dash … 3.98 20-yard shuttle … 355-pound bench press … 31 ½-inch arm length … 9 7/8-inch hands … Right-handed … 25/33 Wonderlic score.

Attended Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.) High School, competing in football for head coach John Reardon … Earned Super Prep All-Farwest honors as a senior in 2001 … Added Phoenix All-Metro Football accolades, along with Prep Star All-West and the Arizona Republic first-team Al-State recognition … In his final season, the All-Region co-Defensive Most Valuable Player and All-Southeast Valley choice recorded 124 tackles as a linebacker and also competed as a quarterback … Earned three letters in football, one in baseball and one in track.

Regional Development major, earning Academic All-District VII and All-Pac-10 Conference honors with a 3.65 grade point average … Married, wife's name is Ann … The couple have a son, Tyton, named after Spencer's favorite movie, "Remember the Titans" … Son of Terri and Richard Larsen … Mother played on the Mesa Community College and Brigham Young volleyball teams … Sister, Mindi, played on Arizona State's volleyball team in the 1990s and another sister, Candi, played volleyball at Mesa Community College … Born 3/04/84 in Mesa, Arizona … Resides in Gilbert, Arizona.