CJ Spiller takes break from coaching for special recognition from Clemson
C.J. Spiller went from a Clemson player to coach and then, for a moment, back to player on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
In January, Spiller was selected as an inductee in the 2021 National Football Federation College Football Hall of Fame. The NFF opted to honor the Tigers’ running backs coach with an in-stadium presentation during halftime of the Tigers’ season opener against SC State. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney presented his former player and now assistant coach with a plaque in honor of his hall of fame selection.
The formal hall of fame ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 7 in Las Vegas, NV.
In his senior season at Clemson in 2009, the Florida native was named the ACC Player of the Year, a unanimous first team All-American and finished sixth in the Heisman voting. The accolades came on the heels of a season where he became the first player in ACC history to gain 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in the same season.
According to Clemson’s athletic department, of the 5.47 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on Nov. 6, 1869, only 1,038 players and 223 coaches have been immortalized in the Hall, including those slated for induction in the Class of 2021. Spiller’s selection to the Hall of Fame puts him in the top 0.02 percent of those who have played or coached college football.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 6:56 PM.
