Spiller building case to become one of Tigers’ all-time greats

Dabo Swinney has his favorite C.J. Spiller moment.

Two of them, actually.

One came in February 2006, when Swinney — then Clemson’s wide receivers coach and Spiller’s primary recruiter — sat in his office, head in hands, listening to Spiller stun all of Lake Butler, Fla., by announcing he’d sign with Clemson.

The other came last January, in an auditorium inside Clemson’s McFadden Building.

With a room full of reporters, teammates, coaches and fans hanging on every word, the star tailback sent the room into jubilation by announcing he was returning for his senior season of college football.

“I was standing in the back of the press conference, and to see him go up front before all of his teammates and speak from his heart, that was a pretty special moment,” Swinney, now Clemson’s head coach, said Tuesday. “I’d rank that right up there.”

Swinney’s favorite moment paved the way for a season full of special Spiller moments this fall — and the real possibility that he could be considered one of Clemson’s greatest players ever.

Saturday, Spiller plays his final Clemson home game, but it likely won’t be the last time he ever steps foot inside Memorial Stadium.

By becoming a legit Heisman Trophy candidate, Spiller has also become a candidate for the Clemson Hall of Fame and the Ring of Honor — the highest award a Clemson athlete, coach or administrator can achieve.

Perform well over his final four games — Virginia, South Carolina, a potential ACC title game matchup with Georgia Tech and the Tigers’ bowl game — and Spiller could be considered the Tigers’ best ever, a thought which seems to mean more to him than a Heisman candidacy.

“That’s a humbling experience in itself,” Spiller said. “You think about all the great athletes who ever came through this program. To be considered one of the greatest… I think Banks McFadden laid the foundation. A lot of greats come through here. I’ve never considered myself the greatest. I’ll let others do that.”

The numbers do that, too. Spiller has set 26 Clemson single-game or single-season records, and is the ACC’s all-time all-purpose yards leader; he needs 140 yards against Virginia to become the fifth NCAA player ever with 7,000 all-purpose yards.

He has accounted for touchdowns in five different ways (running, passing, receiving, punt return, kick return) and has 10 touchdowns of 80-plus yards and 20 of 50-plus yards.

This week, he was rated as the No. 4 Heisman Trophy candidate by Heismanpundit.com, a leading Heisman resource, third by SI.com and fifth by ESPN.com. The last Tiger to crack the top 10 in Heisman voting was quarterback Steve Fuller, a Ring of Honor member, who finished seventh in 1978.

Swinney — who has advocated for Spiller’s Ring of Honor candidacy — says his senior is the complete package.

“I’m proud of the man he is,” Swinney said. “He’s a great role model who understands the platform he has and uses it the right way. He’s what it should be about. He’s very deserving of everything.”

Spiller says he doesn’t pay attention to the Heisman hype, saying it will “take care of itself when the time comes,” saying he’s more focused on winning the ACC title.

But mention the Ring of Honor — which features seven Clemson football players, coaches and administrators, plus the 1981 national title team — and his eyes light up.

“That’d be an emotional day,” he said. “It’d be cool if I was ever inducted into the Ring of Honor. That took a lot of hard work, not only from me but my teammates; I can’t do it without them.

“The other 10 guys play with me, block for me; that’d be a special day to come and be inducted into that. You don’t see a lot of names (on that).”

No Clemson player has been inducted since safety Terry Kinard in 2001. Spiller would have to be named to the Clemson Hall of Fame first. The Ring of Honor committee meets once every two years to discuss potential candidates.

In other words, it is a long ways off. Right now, Spiller says he’s focused on one thing: beating the Cavaliers.

“It’ll be my last time (in Death Valley) and I might be emotional, might not,” he said. “Once the game starts everything will be blocked out. My objective is to position myself to win Saturday.”