First round eludes Eastern Kentucky's Spence

Apr 29, 2016 - 3:43 AM (STATS) - The question has long followed Noah Spence: Would his past drug problems make him fall in the NFL Draft?

No news was not good news Thursday night for the defensive end/outside linebacker from Eastern Kentucky, who wasn't selected in the first round, although some NFL evaluators considered him to have top-10 talent.

The 6-foot-2, 251-pound Spence, the one-time Ohio State standout who entered the draft after his junior season at EKU, now figures to be selected Friday night, when rounds 2 and 3 will be held in Chicago. The draft concludes with the final four rounds on Saturday.

Spence, Urban Meyer's first five-star recruit at Ohio State, made the 2013 All-Big Ten media first team as a sophomore before the conference barred him from competition in September 2014 after he failed a drug test for the second time.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to get him reinstated, Meyer helped facilitate Spence's transfer to Eastern Kentucky. Spence was arrested last May on charges of alcohol intoxication and second-degree disorderly conduct before he even played at the Ohio Valley Conference school, but they were expunged from his record after he participated in community service.

In his one season on the FCS level, Spence was dominant, named the OVC's co-defensive player of the year and to the STATS All-America first team. He outclassed much of the competition with 22.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hurries in 11 games.