C. J. Spiller

--> Clifford "C. J." Spiller Jr. (born August 5, 1987) is an American football coach and former running back and return specialist who is currently the running backs coach at Clemson University.

In 2006, he was named All-First Coast boys track and field athlete of the year by The Florida Times-Union after winning FHSAA Class 2A state titles in the 100 and 200 meters.

In his high school career, Spiller rushed for 5,511 yards on 541 carries.

Spiller received an athletic scholarship to attend Clemson University, where he played for the Clemson Tigers football team from 2006 to 2009.

In his true freshman season, Spiller rushed for 938 yards and ten touchdowns on 129 rushes, despite being the second-team running back behind James Davis.

He scored his first collegiate touchdown in a 34–33 overtime loss to Boston College on an 82-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Will Proctor.

After struggling versus Florida State the following week, Spiller turned it around against North Carolina by rushing for fifty-eight yards and two touchdowns in a 52–7 rout of the Tarheels.

In the following weeks, Spiller had two triple-digit rushing games as the Tigers defeated Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest.

Against Louisiana Tech, he rushed for 127–yards and two touchdowns on eleven attempts, in a 51–0 rout of the Bulldogs, in which the entire Clemson team rushed for 393 yards.

With Spiller and fellow running back James Davis, the Clemson Tigers were favored to win the opening game of their 2008 season against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff.

However, a stingy Alabama defense held Spiller to just seven yards on two attempts.

He did score though, on a kickoff return for a touchdown.

In his second game, however, he rushed for seventy-five yards on six carries, which included three touchdowns in a 45–17 victory over The Citadel.

Against Virginia later that year, Spiller threw his first career touchdown on a trick play.

Spiller finished the 2008 season with 116 carries for 629 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns to go along with 34 receptions for 436 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

On January 15, 2009, Spiller announced that he would remain for his senior year at Clemson instead of entering the 2009 NFL Draft.

In the Tigers' 40–24 victory over the Florida State Seminoles on November 7, 2009, Spiller and Jacoby Ford became the leading all-purpose duo in NCAA history (a record previously held by Marshall Faulk and Darnay Scott of San Diego State).

On November 28, 2009, Spiller set the FBS record for kickoff return touchdowns with seven during his career.

He also earned his spot in the record books in another way on that kickoff return, by being one of five players to ever gain 7,000 all-purpose yards.

Spiller was one of the three finalists for the 2009 Doak Walker Award, and placed sixth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Spiller was selected for the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) first-team, and was voted the ACC Player of the Year by the members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Spiller was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and played in the National Football League (NFL) for 9 seasons with the Bills, the New Orleans Saints, the Seattle Seahawks, the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Spiller was born in Lake Butler, Florida.

He attended Union County High School in Lake Butler, where he played football.

At Union County High School, Spiller played along fellow Clemson teammate, Kevin Alexander.

During his senior year at Union County, he rushed for 1,840–yards on 176 carries for 30 touchdowns.

He also had fifteen receptions for 249 yards.

In a Gameday-featured game vs. 13th ranked Georgia Tech, Spiller rushed for 116 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown run, as well as catching a 50-yard swing pass touchdown en route to the Tigers 31–7 win.

Clemson finished the season with an 8–5 overall record, losing four of their final five games, including a 31–28 loss to archrival South Carolina, and ended the season in a 28–20 Music City Bowl loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.

Spiller rushed for only twenty-four yards on five attempts in the loss.

In his second season for the Tigers, Spiller had a less productive rushing season with only 768 yards and three touchdowns.

He did, however, gain more receiving yards, with 271–yards and two additional touchdowns.

In the opening three games of the season, Spiller rushed for only eighty-five yards, including a career-worst −1–yards in a 38–10 victory over Furman.

In a 13–3 loss, he was again stopped by the Georgia Tech defense, rushing for only two yards.

His best statistical game came against rivals South Carolina, which Clemson won 23–21.

Spiller ran for a team-high 122 yards on twenty-three attempts in the victory.

In the team's bowl game, he rushed for 112–yards on eight attempts, including one touchdown, in a 23–20 loss to Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

He previously served as a graduate intern at Clemson in 2020.

Spiller played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was recognized as a unanimous All-American.