Kurt Kloeblen, Staff writer
At 6-7 and 235 pounds, Spencer Ladner stands out in a crowd. Even on the football field, the senior at the Pembroke Hill School stands out among other players. Ladner’s play has also stood out, which is one of the reasons the tight end will be headed to California-Berkeley to play football next season. Ladner ranks as the No. 17 tight end in the country by Rivals.com and No. 9 tight end by Scout.com. He said he chose Cal for a number of reasons. “I really do like the Bay Area,” Ladner said. “My brother (Ben) plays at Stanford. The Bay Area has all these major cities and I just fell in love with Berkeley.” Ladner committed to the school before taking his official visit to Berkeley, which finally came Nov. 30. through Dec. 2. Ladner said the visit only confirmed how he has felt since he made his decision June 6.
“It was unbelievable,” Ladner said. “It’s a great place. I got to see everything. It helped me a lot. It confirmed that it was the right place.” Ladner said that although his team’s record is not where he wishes it would have been, he will recall fondly his time at Pembroke Hill. “Our team, we worked real hard from last season,” Ladner said. “We worked harder than I’ve seen since I’ve played. We worked in the off-season. We got real close last spring and summer. We were just real close all season. It felt like everyone played every play as hard as they could in practice.” Pembroke Hill Coach Sam Knopik said most teams were well aware of anywhere Ladner went on the field. He said his team often times used that to its advantage.
“I think we tried to prepare him for that with our game plan,” Knopik said. “There are things we do where a lot of times he is a decoy. But if teams play him straight up, then we take advantage of it. I think all the kids take lot of pride in that.” Unlike previous seasons at Pembroke Hill, Ladner will not take to the basketball court this winter. He had been a key part of the Pembroke Hill team that advanced to the Class 4 state title game a season ago, scoring 30 points in the game. He said he will use this time to focus on weight training and preparing his body for the rigors of playing college football. Ladner may have an advantage over many who are entering a career for college athletics. Ladner’s father, Dale, played basketball at the University of Kansas in 1975 and Ben Ladner plays tight end for Stanford University. Ladner said he has gotten advice throughout his career from his older brother.
“He said the first year is the hardest,” Ladner said. “You just have to get past being on scout team every day. Once you start to play in the Pac-10, it will be worth it to go through it.” Ben Ladner said he talks to his brother on a regular basis, both to keep informed on the goings on in Kansas City and to be a friend and brother to Spencer. Ben said he can see why Cal could make for a good choice. “I totally support that decision,” Ben said. “The University of California is an amazing place. This area is one of the intellectual centers of the world. “For a Kansas City athlete to get a full scholarship to play there is a big deal. I know they had some problems this year, but I know from some people who have been recruited by the Cal program that Coach (Jeff) Tedford does a good job. Despite the rivalry, it’s still a good choice.”
Ben said that the Ladner household is one that has allowed for both brothers to think on their own. “My parents always fostered an environment of intellect curiosity,” Ben said. “My brother and I didn’t necessarily both take the same course to make our decision. I know he’s real excited about the academic possibilities at Cal.” Spencer said that during the recruiting process Cal showed up as other schools began offering scholarships. “Once the offers started rolling in, a lot of programs that don’t normally recruit here did. With Cal it was just a random phone call one night, and they said ‘We would like to offer you a scholarship to Cal.’ It just went from there.” Spencer said he knows of two tight ends who are finished with their eligibility at Cal this season. He said coaches have told him he will have an opportunity to earn playing time. “They said they would give me a chance,” Spencer said. “They really emphasize a 50-50 with passing and blocking. They’re not going to play a tight end if they can’t block. I’m really going to have to work on my blocking and putting some weight on and getting stronger.”
Perhaps Spencer’s lasting legacy at Pembroke Hill will be some of the lessons he taught teammates. “He showed that when it’s time to show up and get to work, it’s time to show up and get to work,” Knopik said. “It’s fun to watch him in drills. The other kids had no mercy on him. They don’t care he was D-1 and he didn’t care they weren’t. If we could bottle that, wow. We have more good athletes in the mix, but it’s just seeing if we can match that intensity.”
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