C. J. Spiller facts for kids
Spiller with the New Orleans Saints in 2015
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| Clemson Tigers | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running backs coach | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born: | August 5, 1987 Lake Butler, Florida, U.S. |
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| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Union County (Lake Butler, Florida) |
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| College: | Clemson (2006–2009) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
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College Football Hall of Fame
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Clifford "C. J." Spiller Jr. (born August 5, 1987) is an American football coach and a former player. He used to be a running back and a return specialist. Today, he is the running backs coach at Clemson University. Before that, he was a graduate intern at Clemson in 2020.
Spiller played college football for the Clemson Tigers. He was even named a unanimous All-American. The Buffalo Bills picked him ninth overall in the 2010 NFL draft. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played for the Bills, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Contents
Early Life and High School Sports
C. J. Spiller was born in Lake Butler, Florida. He went to Union County High School there. He played football and was a star athlete. In his senior year, he ran for 1,840 yards and scored 30 touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 249 yards.
Spiller was also great at track and field. In 2006, he won state titles in the 100 and 200-meter races. He was named the All-First Coast boys track and field athlete of the year. During his high school football career, Spiller ran for a total of 5,511 yards.
High School Achievements
- He was chosen to play in the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
- Rivals.com ranked him as the #1 player in Florida.
- He was a First-team Parade magazine All-American.
- He won Florida 2A state titles in the 100 and 200-meter races.
College Football Career
Spiller earned a sports scholarship to attend Clemson University. He played for the Clemson Tigers football team from 2006 to 2009.
Freshman Year Highlights (2006)
As a freshman, Spiller ran for 938 yards and scored ten touchdowns. This was impressive, even though he was the second-string running back. He scored his first college touchdown with an 82-yard catch. He had two games where he ran for over 100 yards. Clemson finished the season with an 8–5 record.
Sophomore Year (2007)
In his second year, Spiller ran for 768 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught passes for 271 yards and two more touchdowns. His best game was against South Carolina. He ran for 122 yards in that game, helping Clemson win 23–21.
Junior Year (2008)
Spiller started his junior year with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Later that year, he even threw his first career touchdown pass on a trick play. He finished the 2008 season with 629 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He also had 436 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. In January 2009, Spiller decided to stay at Clemson for his senior year.
Senior Year and Records (2009)
Spiller had an amazing senior year. He and teammate Jacoby Ford set a new NCAA record. They became the leading all-purpose duo in college football history. On November 28, 2009, Spiller set an FBS record. He had seven kickoff return touchdowns in his career. He also became one of only five players to gain 7,000 all-purpose yards.
Spiller was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. He also placed sixth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. He was named the ACC Player of the Year. He was the only player that season to score touchdowns in five different ways. He scored by rushing, passing, receiving, and on kick and punt returns. He led Clemson to the Atlantic Division title. He ran for 233 yards and four touchdowns in the ACC Championship game.
Spiller graduated from Clemson in December 2009. He was the first person in his family to get a four-year college degree. Clemson also retired his jersey number 28 to honor his great college career. He was the only player in the FBS to score a touchdown in every game in the 2009 season.
College Statistics
| Clemson Tigers | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Rushing | Receiving | Returning | ||||||||||||
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PR | Yds | KR | Yds | TD | |
| 2006 | 129 | 938 | 7.3 | 80 | 10 | 19 | 210 | 11.1 | 82 | 2 | 11 | 33 | 13 | 324 | 0 |
| 2007 | 145 | 768 | 5.3 | 83 | 3 | 34 | 271 | 8.0 | 68 | 2 | 16 | 137 | 19 | 547 | 2 |
| 2008 | 116 | 629 | 5.4 | 57 | 7 | 34 | 436 | 12.8 | 83 | 3 | 18 | 189 | 19 | 516 | 1 |
| 2009 | 201 | 1,212 | 5.6 | 66 | 12 | 36 | 503 | 14.0 | 63 | 4 | 8 | 210 | 21 | 708 | 5 |
| Total | 591 | 3,547 | 5.9 | 83 | 32 | 120 | 1,362 | 11.4 | 83 | 11 | 53 | 569 | 72 | 2,005 | 8 |
College Awards and Honors
- 2006 High School All-American (Parade, USA Today)
- 2006 All-ACC Football (Running Back)
- 2007 All-American – Outdoor Track & Field (4 × 100 m)
- 2007 All-ACC Outdoor Track Selection (100m)
- 2008 All-ACC Indoor Track Selection (60m)
- 2008 All-American – Indoor Track & Field (60m)
- 2009 All-ACC Football (Running Back & Special Teams)
- 2009 All-American – Outdoor Track & Field (4 × 100 m)
- 2009 All-ACC Outdoor Track Selection (100m)
- 2009 All-ACC Football (Running Back & Kick Returner)
- 2009 All-American – Football (unanimous choice)
- 2009 ACC Championship Game MVP
- 2009 ACC Offensive Player of the Year
- 2009 ACC Player of the Year
- 2010: Clemson retired his #28 jersey in his honor.
Professional Football Career
Before the 2010 NFL draft, experts thought Spiller would be a top pick. He was even listed as the #1 running back for that year's draft class by ESPN.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+5⁄8 in (1.79 m) |
196 lb (89 kg) |
30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) |
10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
4.37 s | 1.55 s | 2.57 s | 36 in (0.91 m) |
10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
18 reps | 10 | ||
| All values are from NFL Combine, except vertical and broad jump from Pro Day | ||||||||||||
Buffalo Bills (2010–2014)
The Buffalo Bills picked Spiller as the ninth overall player in the 2010 NFL Draft. This made him one of the highest-drafted Clemson players ever. In August 2010, Spiller signed a five-year contract worth $25 million.
2010 Season: Rookie Year
Spiller started as the top running back for the Bills. In his first NFL game, he had seven carries for six yards. He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for a 95-yard touchdown return. This happened against the New England Patriots. His rookie year had some challenges, and he didn't score any rushing touchdowns.
2011 Season: Stepping Up
In 2011, Spiller changed his jersey number to 28, the same number he wore at Clemson. When teammate Fred Jackson got injured, Spiller became the Bills' starting running back. In a game against the Denver Broncos, Spiller had his first 100-yard rushing game. He ran for 111 yards and scored a touchdown. He finished the year with 561 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
2012 Season: Pro Bowl Selection
With Fred Jackson injured again, Spiller had a fantastic year. In the first game of the season, he ran for 169 yards and a touchdown. In another game, he ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Spiller reached 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his NFL career. He did this in very few carries, which was a rare achievement.
He rushed for 1,244 yards on only 207 carries. His average of 6.0 yards per carry was one of the best in the league. He also caught 43 passes for 459 yards and two touchdowns. Spiller was chosen to play in the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
2013 Season
Spiller had three games where he ran for over 100 yards. In a game against the Atlanta Falcons, he ran for 149 yards and a touchdown. For the 2013 season, Spiller rushed for 933 yards. He also had 185 receiving yards.
2014 Season
In Week 2, Spiller returned a kickoff for a 102-yard touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. This earned him the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award. Later that season, Spiller broke his collarbone and missed several games. He returned to play near the end of the season.
New Orleans Saints (2015–2016)
In March 2015, Spiller signed a four-year contract with the New Orleans Saints. In a game against the Dallas Cowboys, Spiller caught an 80-yard touchdown pass in overtime to win the game. This was a special moment for Saints quarterback Drew Brees, as it was his 400th career touchdown pass. Spiller was released by the Saints in September 2016.
Other NFL Teams (2016–2017)
After leaving the Saints, Spiller played for a few other NFL teams.
- He signed with the Seattle Seahawks in September 2016 but was released a month later.
- He then signed with the New York Jets in November 2016 but was released in December.
- In February 2017, Spiller signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was signed and released by the Chiefs multiple times throughout 2017. His contract with the Chiefs ended in March 2018.
NFL Career Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2010 | BUF | 14 | 1 | 74 | 283 | 3.8 | 20 | 0 | 24 | 157 | 6.5 | 41 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 2011 | BUF | 16 | 11 | 107 | 561 | 5.2 | 38 | 4 | 39 | 269 | 6.9 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2012 | BUF | 16 | 9 | 207 | 1,244 | 6.0 | 62 | 6 | 43 | 459 | 10.7 | 66 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 2013 | BUF | 15 | 10 | 202 | 933 | 4.6 | 77 | 2 | 33 | 185 | 5.6 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2014 | BUF | 9 | 5 | 78 | 300 | 3.8 | 53 | 0 | 19 | 125 | 6.6 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2015 | NO | 13 | 2 | 36 | 112 | 3.1 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 239 | 7.0 | 80 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | SEA | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 43 | 8.6 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| NYJ | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | KC | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 90 | 38 | 712 | 3,451 | 4.8 | 77 | 12 | 198 | 1,484 | 7.5 | 80 | 9 | 19 | 8 | |
Coaching Career
After his playing career, C. J. Spiller joined the coaching staff at Clemson. In 2020, he worked as an unpaid graduate intern. On February 5, 2021, Spiller was promoted to the running backs coach at Clemson. He continues in this role today.
