The recruiting world in college football never stops spinning.
C.J. Spiller, the new Running Backs Coach at Clemson, said recently that the Tigers never stop recruiting and the fact that he’s gone through the process as a five-star prospect gives him a unique perspective on what is involved.
“I think we’re constantly recruiting,” Spiller said. “Me being able to go through it obviously as a player in high school, you kind of know what to expect. It’s changed since I’ve been in high school, but to me, recruiting is about relationships. Can you build relationships with individuals?”
“I’m a huge individual that values relationships to the utmost. It’s all about just building that relationship with a young man and his family. Letting them get to know you, you getting to know them, and then just over time that stuff, it’ll take care of itself.”Â
While he is familiar with the process as a player, the former Clemson superstar said he is still learning the ropes as a coach regarding what all he can or can not do.
“There are certain rules that you can do and you can’t do that I didn’t know as a recruit, but now you know it as a recruiter,” Spiller said. “There’s a lot of stuff that I have to make sure that I’m doing it the proper way, to make sure that you’re not doing anything to bring out any negativity to a program. That goes to making sure I’m asking the right questions with guys that have been in this position before.”
However, the Tigers’ coaching staff has plenty of experience and Spiller knows he can always lean on them if the situation calls for it.
“We have a lot of veteran coaches on our team that you can ask for help,” Spiller said. “So I’m always going to ask questions. How they did certain things because I only know it from a recruit’s standpoint. Now I’m on the other side, so I’m always asking questions.
“How do you handle certain situations? How do they conduct themselves going into schools? At the end of the day, it’s still going to be a learning curve. With COVID-19, we weren’t able to get out on the road this year, so I didn’t exactly experience that part. But I still was able to try and build relationships with guys.”
