In the premiere of All American, Crenshaw-raised Spencer is recruited to play football for a fancy high school in Beverly Hills, by Coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs), who also grew up in Spencer's Los Angeles neighborhood. Coach Baker and Spencer's mom, Grace (Karimah Westbrook), were teenage sweethearts, we learn later, and it was Grace who pushed for Spencer to go to Beverly. However, some fans suspected that Grace's motives may have more to do with Coach Baker than the opportunities at a better-funded school.