There is no shortage of memorable highlights from C.J. Spiller’s historic and decorated career as a running back for Clemson from 2006-09, which culminated with a senior season in 2009 in which he finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting after winning ACC Player of the Year and being selected as a unanimous first-team All-American.
But it was during Spiller’s freshman year in 2006 when his favorite play from his career as a Tiger occurred.
Now Clemson’s running backs coach, Spiller joined former Clemson running back Darien Rencher on The Players Club Podcast this week and was asked to name his single favorite play from his days at Clemson.
Spiller pointed to the Tigers’ game at Boston College on Sept. 9, 2006, when he caught a swing pass from Will Proctor and raced 82 yards down the field for his first career touchdown (which you can watch around the 17:20 mark of Rencher’s video interview with Spiller at the end of this article).
Spiller likened it to his 50-yard touchdown catch and run against Georgia Tech at Death Valley on Oct. 21, 2006, but said his touchdown against Boston College is his favorite play as it showed him that he belonged in college football.
“Everybody thinks I’m going to say Georgia Tech because that’s the iconic one,” Spiller said. “But when you really look at it, if you truly study the history of my career, if you go back and watch the Boston College game my freshman year, it’s the exact same move I did against Boston College that I did against Georgia Tech – except for this time against Boston College, I cut across the whole field instead of just staying up the sideline.
“So, I would say Boston College, because that was my first career touchdown. It was literally the same exact play – a swing route, like a sneak play. Caught the little screen, it was third down, and Will Proctor was the same quarterback for the Georgia Tech (game) that was for the Boston College (game). Man, to make guys miss and to score … that was kind of like that moment, it’s like, ‘Oh, I can play at this level.’ You never know because everybody’s like, ‘We saw him do it in little league and middle school and high school, let’s see if he can do it on this level.’”
Spiller certainly proved he could perform at the college level — at the highest level. He still holds ACC single-season and career records for all-purpose yards, posting 2,680 in 2009 and finishing his career with 7,588, which was second-most in FBS history at the time of his graduation.
Spiller was selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021, earning the distinction in only his second year of eligibility. He was one of the most exciting players in the sport’s history, as he recorded 21 career touchdowns covering at least 50 yards and had an ACC-record eight kick returns for touchdowns in his career.
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