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C.J. Spiller Learning the Ropes as a Recruiter

The recruiting game has changed since C.J. Spiller was on the receiving end, and utilizing his resources has allowed the former Clemson star to thrive as the running backs coach.

With experience from only one side of the recruitment coin, new running backs coach C.J. Spiller has only begun to dive into building relationships with potential Clemson Tiger stars.

 "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." 

While Tigers' head coach Dabo Swinney insists he is learning quickly in his short time on staff, Spiller wasn't so easy on himself. 

Still learning as he goes, Spiller has quickly found being careful and not being afraid to ask questions can make the most significant difference as a recruiter.

"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.

"We have a lot of veteran coaches on our team that you can ask for help, 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."

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