There Tyjae Spears was again Friday night, hoisted on the shoulders of fans and being paraded around just like he was 4½ months ago when he helped Tulane win the American Athletic Conference championship.
It was a ride fitting of a king.
To the people of Ponchatoula lifting him up, he is.
The last time he had been carried on shoulders like this was at his final game at Yulman Stadium.
This time he was at The Blvd, a lounge in Hammond just a few miles from his hometown where this football journey began.
And this time, instead of wearing his No. 22 jersey, he was shirtless.
He had climbed onto the bar and ripped off his shirt moments earlier, right as the Tennessee Titans selected him in the third round of the NFL draft.
Every cellphone in the building pointed in his direction as he held his own concert, standing on the bar with his muscles on full display as he rapped the Meek Mill song “Dreams and Nightmares.”
“I used to pray for times like this, to rhyme like this
So I had to grind like that to shine like this.”
Those lyrics seemed oh-so-fitting on this night.
Spears’ prayers had indeed been answered.
And this was indeed his moment to shine.
His apology moments later for conducting an interview without a shirt really wasn’t needed. But if you know how humble Spears is, you understood why he chose to offer one.
“This ain’t usually me,” he said. “But we partying a little bit hard tonight.”
This party was for everyone of the 8,000 or so folks who call Ponchatoula home. That includes people like Spears' 4-year-old nephew K.J.
“He’s growing up, he can see a role model like me,” Spears said. “No matter what I do from here on out, I made a way for him. I got something for him to chase. I know he’s going to be legendary in everything he does. It’s never about me. It’s about where I come from.”
This party was for people like Robert Henderson, a former defensive end at Southern Miss who was the last Ponchatoula High grad to get drafted in 2008. Henderson attended the watch party.
It was also for those who didn’t attend, like Damian McCarthy. He was Spears’ high school teammate who was working at Shan’s Quick Stop convenience store Friday night as his childhood friend got drafted.
“People hear Tyjae in interviews talk about Ponchatoula and say, 'Where?' " McCarthy said. “People don’t really know. So it’s nice to get this recognition in a small town. Talent breeds here. Tonight means the world. It makes people pay attention to small-town football.”
This party was for every Tulane fan who ever has yelled "A One, A Two, A Helluva Hullabaloo" while watching Spears dash his way into Green Wave lore.
But most importantly, this party was for Spears himself. His journey from those humble beginnings growing up on First Street to the NFL wasn’t an easy one. So his message to every single one of his fans is a simple one.
“Keep going,” Spears said. “I’ve been through a lot. Two (torn) ACLs. People telling me I can’t do it or maybe I won’t come back the same. If you bet on yourself, you’ll always win.”
Austin Granier was the quarterback on the play when Spears first tore his ACL. They were freshmen at Ponchatoula High and it was the first day of practice. A veer option to the right side.
“Even when he was not able to be on the field, his impact was still unbelievable,” Granier said. “He was the heart and soul of the team. It’s hard to miss him when he walks into a room. He just lights the whole place up.”
That was evident Friday night. Spears danced throughout the night, even before his name ever got called and even when he thought he might have to wait one more day before he got selected.
He warned those in attendance that they may have to come back on Saturday for Rounds 4-7. That seemed like even more of a possibility when the Saints, the team he had dreamed of playing for and one of the teams he had met with, selected TCU running back Kendre Miller with the No. 71 pick.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Spears said. “You can’t question God. What’s meant is meant.”
The Titans selected Spears 10 picks later. Spears had met with the Titans, too, and he knew they were very interested.
“The Tennessee running back coach told me he was standing on the table for me,” Spears said. “If you’ve got a coach standing on the table for you, the stars ain’t even the limit. We’re about to go to Mars.”
Spears never doubted himself. His father, Morgene Spears, wouldn’t allow him to.
“His dad always pushed him and always made him recognize that he was different and wasn’t just an average kid,” said Nicole Hart, Tyjae’s mom.
Spears threw his arm around his father, who stood beside him as he fielded questions.
“I’ve had ACL after ACL,” Spears said. “But I’ve seen this man go through it all, struggling day in and day out. I swear I haven’t seen my daddy complain one time or cry one time. Nothing. He always tried to make a way for me even when we didn’t have nothing. So how could I give up? He didn’t give up on me, so how could I give up?”
So Spears never did, even after tearing his ACL a second time in 2020 at Tulane.
Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt spent one year as Spears’ roommate after the second injury. So he knows better than most what Spears went through to get to where he got Friday night. It's why Pratt and several other Tulane players and coaches made the hour drive to the draft party.
“Everything that you see right now is earned,” Pratt said. “None of this was given to him. He has just kept battling and preserved.
"I don’t really have to speak on his talent because you can just turn on the film and see that right off the bat. But what makes him special is how he elevates everybody around him. That man’s energy and attitude and effort is the same every day. To be that consistent every day isn’t easy. He’s a special dude.”
And that special dude, who will go down as one of the greatest players to ever don a Tulane uniform, deserved a special night like this one. It was the perfect ending to a four-month whirlwind that included Tulane's AAC championship, a Cotton Bowl victory over Southern Cal, the Senior Bowl to now hearing his name called in the NFL draft.
“To finally slow down and embrace this moment with my family means everything,” Spears said. “I’m very appreciative of this day.”
His next stop is Nashville, 545 miles from his Ponchatoula home on First Street. This wasn’t the final chapter, though, as Spears told us when he showed the six words embroidered on the lining of the suit jacket he wore Friday night.
“The best is yet to come."