Spencer couldn't catch any breaks, let alone passes.

He may be a hero in both Crenshaw and Beverly Hills but Spencer discovered he's just damaged goods to college-football recruiters on All American Season 2 Episode 12.

Yeah, that sucks. But it's just as well that Spencer learned the reality of college football.

A school has 25 scholarships a year to give to recruits. And the coaching staff needs to succeed in their selection of players or they'll be looking for work, even before those players on whom they misfired.

It's hard to blame UCLA, and all Spencer's other former suitors, for backing off on a receiver who can't raise his arms without suffering shooting pain.

Spencer got the message early and often but didn't seem to absorb it too well.

The doctor hedged for all he was worth about whether Spencer could get back to where he was before the shooting.

Billy didn't help the situation by telling Spencer that his starting spot was waiting for him ... after he had been cleared to play. 

He did his best, however, to temper Spencer's expectations by telling him that college recruiters were backing off him ... for now.

So when Darnell invited Spencer to go along on his unofficial visit to the UCLA campus, of course, Spencer jumped at the chance.

For a usually smart young man, Spencer used some pretty stupid logic. He was going to commit to UCLA before its coaches changed their minds about him.

That approach might have worked in, say, the 1950s. 

But in an era of social media, a star football player saving a beautiful classmate from a drive-by shooting was going to be national news in about 15 minutes.

Spencer would be lucky if the teams didn't already have his medical records.

So, of course, they were going to wait and see, stashing a scholarship until about mid-summer. If he's back to 100 percent by then, great. If not, it goes to the next receiver on the list, who is, at least, 100 percent healthy.

It's brutal. But that's life.

One part of Spencer's brain appeared to comprehend that.

He even told Coop not to abandon her talent because she couldn't know when she might lose it.

But another part, which thought he could succeed faster by ignoring his doctor's rehab instructions overrode that.

Renee was right to warn Grace about where Spencer's head was, even if Grace wasn't ready to hear that.

Hopefully, Billy can come up with some horror stories from his experience to keep Spencer from doing anything too stupid.

Speaking of "too stupid," how about Asher and his 'roid rage?

There's nothing like trying to overcome a lack of talent through chemistry.

He was fighting with his teammates and even random Cali frat boys.

The signs were all there, including his grabbing his chest during practice. And his family and friends, including Gwen, Spencer, and Olivia, all danced around the topic.

But Beverly High being a touchy-feely school, no one risked hurting his feelings. Instead, we'll have to wait until he's rushed off in an ambulance.

Hopefully, Spencer's taken his starting role back by then.

Let's give Olivia a pass, since she's sleep-deprived and badly in need of real counseling after the shooting. Maybe Layla could hook her up.

Olivia blamed herself for Spencer's getting shot. And so did Coop.

Poor Coop was spiralling.

She was ducking Spencer's texts after he got shot, she thought because of her.

That was even after Preach took time out from watching his home-renovation shows in prison to tell her that Spencer's shooting was on Tyrone, not on her.

Preach also gave her good advice to live her life and stop worrying about Tyrone. Granted, the advice only appears to be good until next episode, but ...

Layla, trying to get her life back on track, even threw Coop a lifeline, offering to collaborate with her.

That worked until Coop ran off like a little bitch after seeing Patience in the studio working with J.P.

Spencer's tough love seemed to have gotten Coop back in the studio anyway, although she and Patience still appeared to a be a lost cause. Coop didn't help on that front when she wouldn't pick up the olive branch that Patience was offering.

About the only person who came out ahead was Darnell, although that was close right up until the end.

We finally met his tough mom Renee, who showed up to haul him off to Germany. 

It took her that long to get family leave from the military after Corey's death?

Anyway, Renee showed up fearing the worst and Darnell did his best to feed into that, arguing with her then storming off for his visit to the UCLA campus.

You have to give TPTB credit for including a cameo of Chip Kelly, UCLA's head coach. When they filmed that, they couldn't have predicted Kelly would even still be in that position, since he's posted a 7-17 record so far as coach.

Darnell's bright idea made as much sense as Spencer's. He committed to UCLA so Renee couldn't take him away. It's college ball, dude, not political asylum. Besides, wouldn't a parent have to authorize such an arrangement, regardless of the student's age?

Renee caved in the end, especially after she got to see Grace in all her glory.

Since Darnell is UCLA's quarterback of the future, Jordan's Bruin dreams were squashed. But maybe he could be the mascot since they don't seem inclined to bring back a live bear.

To review Spencer's football career, watch All American online.

Will Spencer get worse before he gets better?

How will Asher crash?

Will Coop come out of her Tyrone period alive?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.