Spencer Fano
Experience
Position-Specific Grades
COMBINE RESULTS
The Takeaway
The Player
Fano started his Utah career as a left tackle, where he started 12 games as a true freshman. He moved to right tackle for his final two seasons in Salt Lake City, starting 24 games. Last season, he won the Outland Trophy and earned first team All-America honors. His uncles Gabe Reid (BYU, Chicago Bears), Spencer Reid (BYU, Carolina), Tenny Palepoi (Utah, San Diego), and Anton Palepoi (UNLV, Denver/Seattle) all played in the NFL.
Fano’s quickness and his ability to cover ground with kick steps make it tough for speed rushers to turn the corner on him despite having 32 1/8 inch arms, which is a red flag for an offensive tackle prospect. Fano can stunt defenders’ momentum with his inside hand and power down when they try to beat him to the inside. He has a rare ability to recover when he gets into a bad spot. He works his hands inside and anchors well enough. He can set high and his base narrows. Spin moves give him some problems.
His tape versus Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey is noteworthy. Bailey beat him with an inside move early, and again with a spin move on the last play of the game, but Fano held his own for most of the game. He’s an effective zone blocker who reaches front-side defenders, is smooth climbing to the second level, and scoops backside defenders. He gets into position, stays connected, and gets some movement in the run game.
The Draft
Fano’s short arms raise questions about his position fit and might hurt his draft value, but he is one of the top offensive linemen in this class and a top 15-20 player overall.
The Projection
Fano has the traditional athletic profile of a left tackle, with experience playing on the left side—but the bulk of his experience comes at right tackle, and his short arms could cause him to kick inside. Buccaneers 2022 second-round pick Luke Goedeke’s arms measured 32 1/4 inch at the combine, and he was expected to move inside from right tackle, where he played in college. Goedeke started his NFL career at left guard and started eight games as a rookie, but he’s started at right tackle the past three seasons and played at a high level. Hall of Fame center Kevin Mawae is another interesting though imperfect comp. Mawae played center in high school, moving to center as a senior at LSU in 1993, but he primarily played left tackle in college. While he didn’t play on the inside in college, Fano has the traits to develop into an excellent center in the NFL.