Spiller a big play back

Virginia will face one of the nation’s most underrated players this weekend when the Cavaliers venture to Death Valley.
C.J. Spiller just might be the most exciting football player in the ACC and it’s obvious why. He can kill you in so many ways.
He can run the ball. He can catch it. He can throw it. Oh, and he’s pretty darned good at returning kicks, too.
In fact, the Clemson back needs 140 all-purpose running yards to become only the fifth player in major college football history to reach 7,000 all-purpose yards. Just in case you’re wondering if he’ll make it, Spiller averages nearly 200 yards per game.
A unique player
In the Tigers’ lopsided win over N.C. State last Saturday, Spiller accounted for touchdowns three different ways. He threw a 17-yard scoring pass. He scored on a
17-yard run. He also caught a 34-yard scoring pass from quarterback Kyle Parker, becoming the first player in Clemson history to throw, catch and rush for a TD in the same game.
The Wolfpack was lucky that Spiller didn’t take back a kick on them while he was at it. He’s brought back three for scores this season and six for his career, which ties an NCAA record.
“He’s unique in his overall skill set,” Virginia coach Al Groh said at his weekly press conference Monday when Spiller’s skills came up. “He’s clearly a dynamic, hard-to-get-on-the- ground runner. His kick return record speaks for itself. He’s got two touchdown passes in his resume, one of which we witnessed.
“He’s got touchdown catches. He is the true all-purpose threat,” Groh continued. “...Maybe as great as we’ve seen in this conference for a long time.”
Heisman candidate?
Spiller truly is a big-play back. While the Tigers’ offense started slow this season, it has picked up dramatically in recent weeks during Clemson’s five-game winning streak.
During that short span, Spiller has emerged not only as a strong candidate for ACC offensive player of the year, but has recently become a blip on the Heisman Trophy watch. While it may be too much, too late for that award, it would be difficult to find a more dangerous or more exciting player in the country.
Consider that the Clemson senior has 20 career touchdowns of 50 yards or more, eight this season alone. He has made a play of at least 58 yards in eight of 10 games this season.
Spiller already owns 26 Tiger records.
The Clemson star was this writer’s preseason pick last season to take home the ACC’s player of the year award. When the Tigers’ offensive line struggled all of last season, it hurt Spiller’s and Clemson’s chances to make much noise.
However, nothing but a few nagging injuries have managed to slow him down so far this season.
Earlier this year, Clemson struggled to score offensive TDs and even some of the Tiger players were complaining that the offense had become too predictable, based solely on Spiller and former Fork Union Military Academy player Jacoby Ford getting all the touches.
Groh said he can’t blame Clemson for continuing to spoonfeed those two players.
The Virginia coach said that in his film study of Clemson that he noticed a change after the Tigers’ bye week, that things began to sync. After all, Clemson had new offensive coaches and a new quarterback trying to fit in.
“It probably took a lot of things just to get everything on the same page,” Groh said. “Obviously, when you do have players like Ford and Spiller, they should be featured. You know, they can’t maybe just overwhelm everything else, but by the same token, if you weren’t featuring them, then the question would be, ‘Why aren’t those two guys getting the ball as much as they should?’”
Spiller and Ford just became the NCAA’s greatest all-purpose yardage duo in history. They have combined for more than 10,000 yards for their careers, breaking the national all-purpose record previously held by Marshall Faulk and Darnay Scott of San Diego State in 1993.
In fact, Spiller automatically gives Clemson a big advantage with his kickoff returns, even when he doesn’t score.
The Tigers have an average starting field position after kickoffs on their own 39-yard line, a 15-yard difference between their starting field position and their opponents.
If Virginia can’t find a way to defend Mr. Everything, then it could be a very long day and a very slow demise in Death Valley come Saturday.