ESPN has revealed that former NFL defensive end and current NFL analyst Marcus Spears will be starting his own podcast with new episodes available across multiple platforms on Wednesdays and Fridays. The show, titled Swagu, will give viewers the opportunity to hear from Spears as he delivers his thoughts on sports, pop culture and a variety of additional topics. Spears will bring listeners his genuine personality and opinions on several matters, and consumers can tune in on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and several other platforms as well. The former national champion for the LSU Tigers will also bring rotating guests from within the sports world and beyond as part of the show.
Spears first joined ESPN as a college football analyst on the SEC Network in 2014, and he began making appearances on NFL Live in 2019. Since that time, Spears has been a regular member of the show with host Laura Rutledge and analysts Ryan Clark, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky with NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Before starting his own individual podcasting venture, he co-hosted the Swagu & Perk podcast with ESPN NBA analyst and former center Kendrick Perkins. When accessing the show page for the new program, the content loads to reflect the new program being hosted by Spears. In the debut episode of the show, Spears explained that he and Perkins’ schedules did not line up, causing him to take on a solo podcast, but added that they have a good relationship.
“Here’s the thing,” Spears said in a preview clip for the show. “There will be some contention sometimes; there will be some disagreement. There will even be some times where you use a few choice words about me, and undoubtedly, I’m going to use some choice words about you because I promise y’all, if y’all know me for one thing, y’all know we [are] going to have a damn good time.”
The first episode of the show, which was released on Wednesday afternoon, started with a discussion surrounding Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers, his alma mater, after dropping the Week 1 matchup against the USC Trojans. Spears also discussed the importance of the transfer portal before transitioning to the NFL and previewing the forthcoming Friday night matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. Additionally, Spears talks about his take on the race for WNBA Rookie of the Year between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.
