This has been a difficult and emotional season for Spence, who spent most of it fearing he had a serious illness. Having regularly spit up blood for months, Spence was told by doctors late in the season that he had lung cancer.
He was given a much better prognosis the week after the Tigers' 23-21 win at South Carolina on Nov. 24. Doctors told him he merely had an infection in his lungs that could be cured with medication.
"I'm glad he's better," Bowden said. "He dealt with it pretty good. He probably didn't deal with it very smart, because he should have gotten it checked when it first started becoming a problem."
Tight ends coach Billy Napier said Spence has been an inspiration to the rest of the staff.
"It kind of reminded us what was really important," he said. "It definitely put everything in perspective. Rob's a special guy, no doubt about that. We're all just excited that it's treatable and he's going to be OK."