CJ Spiller is coaching at Clemson. Before that, he got his feet wet somewhere else
Coaching has always been in the back of C.J. Spiller’s mind, even as he was finishing up his NFL career in 2017.
But after growing up playing football and seeing the hours and dedication it takes to be a successful coach, Spiller wasn’t ready to jump right into the profession after his playing days were over.
Before dedicating his life to becoming a successful coach, the former Clemson star wanted to try it out, see how he liked it and go from there.
The Liberty High School track program provided the perfect opportunity.
“It was probably four years ago C.J. started working with us,” Liberty track coach Patrick Canterbury said. “He started off real slow, helping where he could, didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes. ... But he really started to get his coaching voice in Year 2 and 3 and what we had of (Year) 4 in the spring. He works them hard. The kids love him. He loves them back.”
During Spiller’s four seasons working with Liberty High, he was described as a big asset for Liberty’s sprinters, teaching them techniques he learned during his All-American track career at Clemson.
Liberty was also beneficial for Spiller: It helped him realize that his heart was in coaching.
In August he accepted a position on Dabo Swinney’s staff as an unpaid grad intern, working with Clemson’s running backs.
“Ever since I’ve been helping with the track team it kind of gave me that itch to want to (coach football),” Spiller told The State this summer. “It’s fun. It’s different dealing with high schools, teenagers. Some days we’re gonna giggle and have fun and then other days it’s going to be hard.”
Spiller ‘made everybody better’ at Liberty High
Spiller’s wife — Daysha — was a track star at Liberty High and held multiple records during her high school career.
Her nephew was on the track team at Liberty and, as Canterbury recalls it, Spiller and his then-fiance approached him about helping out with the program during the offseason as Spiller’s NFL career was winding down.
“Free help is hard to come by, and of course I’m going to say yes to C.J. Spiller,” Canterbury said.
Canterbury, a Clemson grad, attended college at the same time as Spiller and watched him from the stands during his record-breaking career. He then followed Spiller in the NFL, before becoming a coach working alongside him years later.
“I kind of grew up idolizing C.J. as a football player,” Canterbury said. “Fast forward a few years, I’m working with him on a daily basis, which is awesome.”
Canterbury had always heard the old saying that you don’t really want to meet your heroes. Sometimes it can change your perception of them in a negative way. In Spiller’s case, he said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“You hear that all the time that maybe they’re not as great a person in real life, but if anything he’s better,” Canterbury said. “He’s everything you could ask for.”
Spiller got more involved with the Liberty track program as he became more comfortable with the athletes and Canterbury. Over his final two years with the Red Devils — with his NFL days behind him and more time to commit to coaching — he attended nearly every practice, only missing on a few rare occasions when he was out of town for business.
“He was close to perfect attendance,” Canterbury said.
Spiller traveled all over the Upstate for meets, went to ones in Columbia as well and even held some workouts on off days for the Liberty track team if any runners wanted to get in extra work.
“He always pushed me beyond my limits, which I’m grateful for, because he got me here in college,” said Kendrick King, a Liberty alum who is now on the track team at Erskine. “It was just great having him around because he pushed everybody and made everybody better.”
A bright future in forecast for Spiller the coach
Canterbury is convinced from working alongside Spiller for four years that the Florida native has a bright future in coaching.
There was the time at Walhalla in 2018 when a sprinter started showboating before crossing the finish line. Canterbury knew he needed to address it with the runner and started working his way through the crowded track meet to confront him.
Before he could get there, Spiller was already speaking with him, starting out stern, before telling him he was still proud of him and loved him.
“In that moment you could see what a coach he was going to be,” Canterbury said. “He got onto the kid for doing something wrong. But the kid also knew, ‘Hey, C.J. loves me. I understand why this is happening.’ And we moved on. It was just a great moment that I always think about like, ‘Man, he’s going to be a great coach, whether it’s track or football.’ ”
There was also the time at Seneca in 2017 when a 400-meter runner was sick and a distance runner had to fill in for the relay race. Spiller quickly offered tips for shorter races to the distance runner.
“You would’ve thought that C.J. had been coaching up this distance runner for weeks,” Canterbury said. “C.J. was working with his sprinting form and then yelling at him from the moment the race started to run with correct form and to close up the gap.”
What stands out to King is a one-on-one practice they had on an off day when he told Spiller that he really wanted to be pushed to improve.
“He had me on the sled and I was throwing up and stuff because the workout was so hard. He was like, ‘Look, man, this is to get you right. This is to get you better.’ That’s when I started pushing like crazy,” King said. “I was like, ‘I have this well-known athlete here telling me this is to get me better’ and stuff like that. He always told me he sees potential in me. That made me go 10 times harder, because it’s like, if C.J. Spiller tells you he sees potential in you, that will give you a boost.”
‘He’s just a normal guy’
Spiller is a Tigers legend who has been described as “the most important player in Clemson football history.”
He stunned many when he chose to come to Clemson over Florida as a top recruit and was vital to Swinney’s success when he was an interim coach in 2008, setting up the Tigers for an incredible run.
Spiller made a Pro Bowl in the NFL and is a former top-10 overall pick. But those at Liberty say you would have no clue about his stardom if not for one phenomenon: At track meets, there are often athletes and even coaches who ask for a picture with Spiller or an autograph.
“He’s just a normal guy,” King said. “Yeah, he was this superstar, but it was crazy how humble he was. He’s just a super humble guy. If you met him and never knew who he was, you just met him for the first time, you wouldn’t even know he is as big as he is. He’s just super chill and super humble.”
Canterbury added that Spiller was a role model for his athletes, someone they could look to for track advice or life advice.
“Liberty’s not the most diverse school in the state, and that goes with our teaching staff as well. I hate the fact that it’s hard sometimes to find role models and have someone to look up to who looks like them. I realize a lot of times that’s not me,” Canterbury said. “It’s great to have somebody around here who can provide that role model for the students, and C.J. certainly fills that role for a lot of students. He keeps up with their grades. He’ll ask them how they’re doing. He’ll get on them if they’re falling behind. And he really cares about the kids. It’s great to see.”
Spiller is still hoping to help out with Liberty’s track team this spring, and his wife, Daysha, will continue to volunteer as well. However, with Clemson’s busy spring football schedule, Spiller won’t be around as much.
Canterbury is thankful for any help Spiller provides and is excited to see where his coaching career goes next. He is also proud to have played a small role in helping it get started.
“In a lot of ways this was kind of his foot in the door to make sure this was what he wanted to do,” Canterbury said. “He couldn’t have a better opportunity than coaching down the road at Clemson. If it’s anything like I’ve seen what he does down on our track on a daily basis, they’re going to have a heck of a time working with him. He’s gonna shine. He’s gonna move up that ladder as quickly as anybody can.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 10:34 AM.
