C.J. Spiller: Clemson legend felt ‘calling’ to return as coach

CLEMSON — When C.J. Spiller signed with Clemson as a five-star recruit from Florida for the class of 2006, he wasn’t just making a commitment to play football for the Tigers for three or four years.

“It was a lifetime commitment,” Spiller said Wednesday night.

The next chapter of Spiller’s life officially began in January as he was hired as a full-time assistant coach on Dabo Swinney’s staff after spending last season as an unpaid grad intern.

Fifteen years after agreeing to come play running back for Swinney and the Tigers, he is now coaching Clemson’s backs.

“Clemson has always been special to me,” Spiller said. “I always said I wanted to be close to this university in some capacity. I always knew I wanted to be involved with this university.”

This opportunity is one Spiller believes he is prepared for.

When the program legend and former Pro Bowler would return to Clemson in the offseason during his NFL playing days, he would meet with Swinney for what he described as a “father-son type conversation.”

Late in Spiller’s NFL career, Swinney would tell Spiller that whenever he was ready to get into coaching, to let him know.

“He’s had a vision with this for a long time,” Swinney said. “I don’t think he knew when that time would come. But he’s had a vision for what he wanted to do.”

Clemson running back C.J. Spiller darts through a hole during his playing days for the Tigers. (Gerry Melendez/Getty Images)

Spiller first got his feet wet as an assistant high school track coach at Liberty High in the Upstate.

“I kind of got that itch when I was helping out those high school students. That’s kind of where it started from,” Spiller said. “Some people say that this is their job. To me this is my calling.”

Spiller credits Swinney for helping to turn him into a man, for helping him grow not only as a football player, but also as a person.

Now Spiller wants to do the same for the running backs in his room and all of the players at Clemson.

“You just wanna have an impact on young men’s lives. You wanna see them go off and be successful,” Spiller said. “I think too many times when people say you wanna be successful they think of the NFL level. To me it’s life. How can you have an impact? How can you inspire others around you?”

Spiller was an All-American at Clemson, the ACC Player of the Year and a first-round draft pick in the 2010 NFL draft. He played eight seasons in the NFL and has an incredible resume as a running back.

But Spiller is also humble and understands that he still has plenty to learn about being a coach.

He spent last season watching Clemson offensive coordinator and former running backs coach Tony Elliott closely. He believes the lessons he learned will help him greatly in 2021 and beyond.

“Last year kind of gave me a jumpstart of what to expect. Being able to sit in coach Elliott’s room and see how he commands the room, how he runs the room, how he engages with the guys. He gave me a glimpse of what it will take to be successful,” Spiller said. “Coach Elliott is a very detail-oriented individual, and he did a great job of making sure that guys knew why they needed to be in certain spots.”

While it will likely take Spiller some time to grow into his role and develop his coaching style, he has no doubt that coaching is what he is supposed to be doing.

And Clemson is where he’s supposed to do it.

“It’s not just about football here at Clemson. It’s about life. How are we preparing you for life? Because one day we all know you’re going to get that curtain call on football, but life’s still going to go on,” Spiller said. “Are you going to be prepared? Or what are you going to take away from that? That’s where my job comes in, to make sure that you’re prepared and ready to take on life.”