Why Robert Spillane shows no fear of swimming in the NFL's deep end

OAK PARK, Ill. — Robert Spillane sat on the edge of the indoor tank dangling his feet in shark-infested waters while surrounded by college teammates who could not believe what he was contemplating.

In the clear pool below, Spillane spotted creatures of the sea circling the Atlantis Resort aquatic exhibit. There were Caribbean reef sharks, Nurse sharks, Amberjacks, Blue Runner Jacks and barracudas. 

His Western Michigan teammates, who had traveled to the Bahamas for a 2015 bowl game, gathered on the periphery, preferring the safety of dry land. Spillane, who had been sidelined for two months with a season-ending knee injury, was spoiling for adventure. 

His college coach P.J. Fleck has conditioned him to think like a Great white shark — "always attacking, never full." He made no mention, however, of swimming with a predator. 

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “I have an appreciation for wildlife and nature. . . .  It was like, ‘I’m going to go for a little swim. I’ll be right back.’”

For more than a minute, Spillane glided around the tank. The sharks, unaccustomed to seeing tourists on their side of the glass unless accompanied by well-trained Atlantis staff members, kept their distance. Teammates hooted their approval, some reaching for their cell phones to capture a potential Darwinian moment. 

There’s no telling how many laps Spillane might have taken if not for a Western Michigan assistant coach screaming at him to get out of the water.

“He yelled, ‘What are you doing?’ Spillane recalled. “‘What would your father say?’ I told him, ‘You don’t know my father because he would be in here with me.’”

It’s the kind of story that helps explain why the 6-foot-2, 229-pound Steelers’ linebacker dove head first into a gaping hole two weeks ago in Nashville and hammered bruising Titans’ running back Derrick Henry in a memorable goal-line collision. 

Spillane might not be the quickest athlete or a long-term defensive starter in the NFL. But he did not evolve from a lightly-recruited college prospect and an undrafted free-agent by listening to critics who only saw his limitations.

Always attacking, never full. That’s the mentality of a self-made pro who’s seized an opportunity to become a valuable contributor on an undefeated team. Spillane has made a few mistakes, but also provided some huge plays since replacing an injured Devin Bush three games ago. 

Those who know him best in his hometown of Oak Park, Ill., just outside of Chicago, speak of a fearless competitor with a stubborn streak as long as the Miracle Mile. 

“He’s a beauty, there’s no doubt about it,” said his former high school coach Gene Nudo. 

The grandson of a Heisman Trophy winner, Spillane simply doesn’t back down whether it’s on a football field or at the kitchen table arguing with his father about who ranks as the NBA’s greatest player, Michael Jordan or LeBron James.

Fleck, who’s now at the University of Minnesota, said he’s never met anyone who loves football more than Spillane. The linebacker helped transform Western Michigan from a Mid-American Conference bottom feeder to a league champion.

Five years later, the coach laughs at the memory of his best player swimming in an aquarium. 

“If someone else would have done that, it would have shocked me,” Fleck said. “Not with him. When Robert Spillane is in a shark tank, it’s the sharks who have to worry.”

'PAPA JOHN'

A pot of Italian beef simmers on the kitchen stove inside the 110-year-old, two-story brick house. It’s here where Spillane grew up on a tree-lined street in a blue-collar suburb that gave the world author Ernest Hemingway and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Gretchen Spillane, wearing a black Steelers T-shirt, piles beef into a bun and offers her dinner guest a spoonful of peppers. The peppers are optional, but judging by the looks on the faces of Gretchen and her husband, Big Mike, someone’s losing his man card if he declines. 

The kitchen is filled with laugher, friends and family. It’s the Spillane Way. Big Mike, a salesman for Westco, is one of 11 kids. Gretchen, a sales manager for a small manufacturing firm, is one of eight kids. Together they raised five children, including teenage boys, Timmy, 15, and Henry, 16, who play multiple sports in high school.

“It’s been pretty exciting around here,” said Gretchen, a day after Spillane’s pick-six interception opened the scoring in the Steelers’ 28-24 win in Baltimore. "A lot of phone calls, a lot of people getting together to watch games."

A month ago, they were proud parents of a solid third-year pro who excelled on special teams. Now, they are gazing at the cover of a USA Today sports section that features a picture of their son celebrating his first NFL touchdown. 

Despite the brush with unexpected celebrity, nobody in the house is getting caught up in Spillane's success. They know how quickly fortunes can turn for a player who's spent time in the margins of a team roster. Besides, it's not in the family's nature.

“They are some of the most unpretentious people you will ever meet,” Nudo said.

Case in point: the weathered football with a Steelers logo that sits in one of the wooden lockers that Big Mike built into the kitchen wall. The locker stalls are filled with balls for all seasons and various jerseys and jackets.  

The football is from a 2018 preseason game in which Spillane, while playing for the Titans, intercepted a pass against Pittsburgh. Instead of treating it as a family heirloom, his two youngest brothers and Big Mike throw it around at one of the neighborhood parks. 

It’s in keeping with family tradition. 

Spillane’s grandad, Johnny Lattner, won the Heisman as a Notre Dame halfback in 1953. After bringing it home to his beloved Oak Park, Lattner used the trophy for everything from a tool for charity to a door stop at the family’s old home. It’s why Spillane doesn't mind seeing his old football put to use. 

“My grandfather would give the Heisman away to a stranger for a weekend so he could show it to his friends without any assurance he would get it back,” said Spillane, 24. “‘Here, take the Heisman for a day. Go use it to raise some money for a good cause.’ 

“We cherish our memories, but if someone needs a football, there’s one right there.”

On the kitchen wall opposite the lockers is a framed photo of Lattner — known to everyone as “Papa John” — from his playing days in the company of future president John F. Kennedy. Just a couple of Irish Catholics talking football. 

Lattner, who died in 2016, had 25 grand kids. They all have memories of him marching in the annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade in his kilt and dropping his trousers at weddings to dance in his Notre Dame boxers.

“He wasn’t a bit of a character,” said Gretchen, his daughter. “He was a real character.”

Spillane and his grandfather share Steelers’ ties. 

Lattner was the club’s first-round draft pick in 1954 and earned Pro Bowl honors in his only NFL season before service to his country interrupted a promising career. He was called to active duty with the U.S. Air Force and severely injured his left knee playing sandlot football, ruining his chance to return to the pros.

Gretchen said her father never spoke a bitter word about the mishap. 

“Those guys didn’t make much money in those days,” Gretchen said. “His brother was a Miller (beer) truck driver and made twice as much as Johnny.”

The last football game Lattner attended was in 2015 and it included two grandchildren, Spillane (Western Michigan) and Ryan Smith (Miami University). The two kids met again three years later in an NFL preseason game at Lambeau Field. The family rented three houses in Green Bay and had more than 50 family members in attendance.

“Papa John took so much pride in those kids,” Nudo said. “He was such an important figure in the community, kind of on the level of Ray Meyer (the legendary DePaul basketball coach). But you would never know what a big deal he was by just talking to him. He was very humble, just like the rest of the family.” 

PASSION AND COMMITMENT

As Italian beef sandwiches are devoured, old high school football stories get told around the kitchen table. The best one involves a sledge hammer. 

Longtime family friend Aaron Garland, who played with Spillane and Smith at Fenwick High, recalls in vivid detail the 2012 playoff game against Huntley High. The visitors brought with them a sledge hammer, a team symbol of toughness. During pre-game warmups, a Huntley player took the tool and placed it at the 50 yard line of Fenwick’s field. 

Spillane, a running back-linebacker, witnessed the brazen act and immediately sought revenge. Like a competitor in the Scottish Highland Games, he grabbed the sledge hammer and flung it to the Huntley sideline.

Teammates remember it as a galvanizing moment that helped lead them to victory.

“Robert was the one who had the balls on our team,” Garland said. “Him throwing that sledge hammer gave us the swag we needed.”

Tales of Spillane’s passion and gusto can fill notebooks. Because he was the team’s primary offensive weapon, Nudo tried to limit his reps on defense.

Spillane reacted as though the coach had tied his grandfather’s Heisman to the back bumper of a car and dragged it around the school parking lot.

“I probably had an assistant coach save my life twice,” Nudo said. “Robert was so intense that he would really get mad. His competitiveness and desire were off the charts. 

“He also was really smart. Sometimes, as a coach you have to change up things on the fly. Robert was the kind of kid who would say, ‘That’s not what you told us yesterday.’ I can remember him drawing up plays he thought would work and I would take the paper, crumple it up and throw it in the trash can. He was always trying to come up with ways to make the team better.”

Despite leading Fenwick to back-to-back playoff appearances, Spillane didn’t garner much interest from major-college programs. Nudo recalls the day Spillane took his visit to Western Michigan and the recruiting advice the coach gave him. 

The high school coach was convinced bigger schools would offer him a scholarship after his senior year. He told Spillane to listen to   Fleck’s pitch, but to not make any promises. 

“He says to me, ‘I’ve got it, coach.’” Nudo said. “Two hours later, I get a call from Robert and he says, ‘I’m going to Western Michigan. I committed.”

The Broncos went 1-11 in the season before Spillane arrived. While other programs attempted to poach him, Papa John’s grandson kept his word. 

Western Michigan went to three bowl games during Spillane’s time there and helped the Broncos to a 13-1 record in 2016. He earned second-team All-MAC honors in his junior and senior seasons. 

“Robert believed in something bigger than himself,” Fleck said. “He believed Western Michigan could win a (MAC) championship, which we hadn’t won outright since the 1960s.

“We would talk to players all the time about loving every part of their life. Robert would say, ‘Coach, I do love every part of my life, but I love football the most.’”

THEY MEET AGAIN

Lamar Jackson had seen enough of Spillane for one afternoon. Yet three hours after intercepting one of his passes, the Steelers’ linebacker re-introduced himself to the reigning league MVP.

Four years earlier, Spillane met Jackson in New York as the former University of Louisville quarterback was receiving college football’s most prestigious individual honor. Among the perks of being the grandson of a Heisman Trophy winner is occasionally getting to attend the award’s ceremony. 

Big Mike, Spillane and his two cousins dined with Jackson and his mother. The two players also had their picture taken together with the trophy. 

After Sunday’s game, Spillane reminded the superstar of the photo-op. The Ravens quarterback could not have been more gracious in defeat, but Spillane is relatively certain Jackson didn’t recall their first encounter.

“I mean he probably saw 1,000 people that weekend,” Spillane said. “But it really is funny how things work out.”

The sight of the two players embracing on the field hammered home the significance of Spillane’s improbable journey. 

Jackson was a first-round draft pick. Spillane didn’t merit an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine. 

Jackson led the Ravens to a playoff appearance in his rookie year. Spillane didn’t even get a free-agent contract out of college. He attended tryouts with the Vikings and Titans. 

After appearing in two regular-season games with Tennessee in 2018, he was released. Another tryout followed, this time with Denver, only to end in more disappointment. 

All Spillane knew to do was work harder. There was no thought of quitting. He tweaked his diet and improved his sleeping pattern. He studied film and focused on drills to quicken his feet. 

The Steelers signed and released him twice last year before Spillane caught on with the club at midseason. Over the final eight games, he led the league with 1.25 special teams tackles per game. Then, came last month and the injury to Bush, a shot at regular playing time starting with his long-relief appearance against the Browns. 

“I always believed in myself,” he said. “I knew when I stepped on the field, I could play with any of these guys. That’s just how I felt.”  

‘ULTIMATE OVERACHIEVER’ 

As a kid, Spillane and his dad engaged in spirited debates about generational athletes. Big Mike loves Michael Jordan, who delivered six NBA titles to Chicago. Spillane is a LeBron James’ fan. 

“I respect them both,” said Spillane, who plays basketball in the offseason as a means of cross training. “They are two of the best who ever lived.”

Before making his first start at linebacker, Spillane drew inspiration from his hoops hero. 

“Honestly, all I was thinking before that Tennessee game was, ‘If LeBron is watching — and I know he’s a big football fan — what can I do to make him go, Oh, wow, that kid can really play? Who is that No. 41?’”

Spillane has produced at least one big play in his three games at linebacker, including an interception and fumble recovery in Baltimore.

When Spillane saw his picture in USA Today on Monday, his eyes were drawn to the only other story appearing above the fold. It was an article about James. 

“Robert is such a great underdog,” Fleck said. “In my mind, he’s the ultimate overachiever. The longer he’s in that league, the harder it will be to get him out of it because people fall in love with how hard he plays.”

Players such as Spillane, who lack elite athleticism, must forever prove themselves. Within 24 hours of his pick-six, the Steelers acquired veteran linebacker Avery Williamson from the Jets to add depth at the position.

Williamson won’t play this weekend, but there’s a good chance he will be splitting reps with Spillane over the second half of the season. 

“I’m all for making our team better, and we did that by picking up Avery,” Spillane said.  “I’ve only heard good things about him. . . . I’m excited to get to work with him and help him in any way I can learn the defense.”

Spillane’s approach won’t change regardless of his snap count. Always attacking, never full. 

After sharing his story of jumping in the shark tank, Spillane worries he could be banned from Atlantis. Then again, if he keeps delivering game-changing plays en route to a deep post-season run, the Caribbean resort might just offer him an endorsement deal.