At some point, roughly five years ago, Nick Lassiter approached his best friend, Webb City football teammate Adam Spieker, and gave him a good-natured ribbing about his college choice. Spieker is at the center of it, and not just by his position. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound senior anchors Missouri’s stout, veteran offensive line and has started every game since his redshirt freshman year in 2004. Tonight, Spieker will start his 48th consecutive game, tying Brad Smith’s school record. He could break it next week in the Big 12 championship or in a bowl game.
“It’s weird,” Lassiter said Friday. “I actually gave him a hard time about going to Missouri, because I mean, he had offers from Nebraska, Arkansas, even Kansas.” The conversation seems like a joke now, considering that Spieker is in Kansas City today, Missouri’s starting center preparing for the Division I game of the year. The No. 3 Tigers play No. 2 Kansas at 7 tonight in Arrowhead Stadium. “This was our dream,” Spieker said Monday from Columbia. “One of the reasons I came here was because I had faith in the coaching and thought that if we work hard, we could eventually do what we’re trying to do now.” But this has nothing to do with “eventually” or “trying.” The Tigers and Jayhawks are a combined 21-1, with the only loss Missouri’s 41-31 setback at Oklahoma.
Not too long ago, this seemed like a bit of pipe dream, even for Spieker and his family
“Coach (Gary) Pinkel talked about it in his in-house trip, how they wanted to be national champions, and I think he did a good job selling Adam on his beliefs,” said Curt Spieker, Adam’s dad. “But to believe we’d be two games away (from the national-championship game), it was the farthest thing from my mind.” Actually, football wasn’t the first thing on Adam’s mind as a kid, either. The Spiekers, originally from Wisconsin, moved to Indiana before Adam’s birth. “We were kind of partial to basketball,” Curt Spieker said. “Adam played football in second grade but had a bad experience with a coach that yelled at kids and wasn’t fun for the kids. So he played basketball, and he lived there until fourth grade.” Then, Curt Spieker was given an opportunity for a promotion and a job transfer to Webb City. Adam tried football again as a Webb City seventh-grader, and, even though he actually spent his first year on the B team, this time it stuck. He still played basketball in high school, but after sustaining an injury he stayed off the court his senior season. Older brother Andrew and older sister Katie (now Katie Chapman) played basketball at Pittsburg State, but Spieker was destined for a different path.“I started to get a little interest my sophomore year, and then my junior year a little more,” Adam Spieker said. “That’s when it kind of sank in, when I started getting offers.“... I wanted to stay in-state, and I also liked the coaching staff a lot. They said someday they’d be a national contender, and I bought into it.”Spieker left Webb City as a soft-spoken gentle giant, and in many ways, he still is.“I went up to the Texas A&M game (in Columbia) a couple weeks ago, and it was nice to see him and visit with him,” said Webb City coach John Roderique, who coached Spieker in high school. “He’s still the same old Adam, barely says much, mumbles a little, very unassuming. Some of those guys walk out like, ‘Look who I am,’ but he’s really a typical offensive lineman.”But Tyler Luellen, the Tigers’ senior left tackle and Spieker’s fast friend, said that isn’t entirely accurate.“Really, it depends on who you are,” Luellen said. “With the bond me and Adam have, we’ve grown to know each other so well, we’ll tell each other about anything. But if you’re just some Joe Schmoe off the street, he’s real quiet and laid-back.”Whatever the case is, Spieker’s the latest pride of Webb City, a town that’s produced its share of high-profile athletes.“I’m a huge Missouri fan just because of Adam,” said Lassiter, who now volunteers as Webb City’s wide receivers coach. “It’s nice to see what he’s done.”
- 2006 Hon. Men. All-Big 12 (Associated Press)
- 2006 Rimington Award Pre-Season Watch List
- 2005 Hon. Men. All-Big 12 (Coaches)
- 2005 1st-Team Sophomore All-American (College Football News)
- 2004 2nd-Team Freshman All-American (Rivals.com)
- 2004 1st-Team Freshman All-Big 12 (Sporting News)
2007 OUTLOOK
The anchor of Mizzou's offensive line is one of the top veteran centers in the nation, and should contend in 2007 for all-American honors as well as receive prime consideration for the Rimington Award, given annually to the nation's top center ... Is in his 4th year of starting at the center position, and has started all 36 career games at the spot ... Needs 13 more starts to break the school record of 48 consecutive starts by QB Brad Smith ... Last name is pronounced SPEE-kerr.
2006 SEASON
Anchored the Tiger offensive line in his 3rd year of starting at the center position ... Was the glue of a line that has provided protection for a Tiger offensive attack that ranked 8th in the nation in total offense (425.62 ypg) and 10th in the country in passing offense (276.15 ypg) ... Earned honorable mention All-Big 12 status from the Associated Press for his play in 2006 ... The offensive line was one of the nation's best in protecting its QB, as it ranked 24th in the country in fewest QB sacks allowed (1.46 pg).
2005 SEASON
A very talented center who anchored the Tiger offensive line for the 2nd straight season, and had an outstanding year, grading highly each week ... Was named a 1st-Team Sophomore All-American by College Football News for his stellar play ... Earned honorable mention All-Big 12 status from the league's coaches for his play in 2005 ... Was part of a line that helped MU rank 17th nationally in rushing (205.25 ypg), and helped QB Brad Smith put up only the 3rd 2,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing season in NCAA Div. I-A history.
2004 SEASON
Started all 11 games at center, and had a solid debut season as a redshirt freshman, despite facing the daunting task of replacing A.J. Ricker, who set a school record by making 47 consecutive starts over the ball from 2000-03 ... Was named a 2nd-Team Freshman All-American for his efforts by Rivals.com, and also landed a spot on the 1st-Team Freshman All-Big 12 squad picked by The Sporting News ... Had a solid spring, one that was encouraging enough to see him listed at No. 1 on the depth chart heading into the fall.
2003 SEASON
Redshirt season ... Earned scout team MVP honors in practice for his work leading up to the Oklahoma game.
HIGH SCHOOL
Rated as the No. 3 offensive lineman in the Missouri-Kansas region by MoKan Football ... Rivals.com had him as the No. 26 offensive guard prospect in the country, and as the No. 8 prospect in the state of Missouri (all positions) ... Rated as the No. 53 overall prospect in the Midland region by SuperPrep Magazine ... Earned all-state mention as a defensive lineman each of his last two seasons at Webb City, where he was an all-area performer for two years on the offensive line ... Rated as the No. 1 offensive and defensive lineman (all classes) in 2002 by Danny Heitert of STC Grid Report ... Three-sport standout (football, basketball and track) who won the 3A state championship in 2003 and took 5th place in the state championships in the shot put in 2002 ... Holds school records in the shot put and discus ... High school coach - John Roderigue.
PERSONAL
Son of Curt & Holly Spieker ... National Honor Society Member ... Academic interest lies in business at MU ... Chose Mizzou over Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Illinois, among others.
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