Feb. 28, 2010

Inside story: Spiller will be a weapon wherever he runs

By Pete Prisco | CBSSports.com Senior Writer
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Is there anything more damning to a running back than somebody questioning his ability to run inside?

They might as well call you Mr. Softy.

But when you're a speed back, the label almost always seems to follow. Reggie Bush had it when he came into the league. So did Chris Johnson.

The latest speed runner with that stigma is Clemson's C.J. Spiller. He is as explosive as Johnson, who ran for 2,006 yards last year for the Tennessee Titans -- but there are scouts who still wonder if he can go inside the tackles.

"It doesn't bother me at all," Spiller said when I asked him about it at the scouting combine. "I don't get caught up into what people say. Everyone is going to voice their own opinion. The only thing I do is go out there and try to help my team win and just enjoy competing at the highest level. I don't sit home and worry about what people like about my durability or what my style is."

Relax, C.J. I'm not the one saying it. In fact, I think this kid is destined to be a star.

He will be the next Chris Johnson, which is high praise for sure, but I truly believe it.

Spiller, who measured at 5-feet-11½, 196 pounds here, is every bit as explosive as Johnson. He hits the edge of a defense as fast. Tacklers appear to have angles, but his speed changes that, and they usually end up reaching for air.

Spiller can also return punts and kicks -- dangerously I might add, which has led to comparisons to Bush. A few years ago, that might have been a bad thing. When teams lined up and played power football, they preferred a stronger, bigger back -- not a swift speed back like Bush or Spiller.

With the NFL morphing more and more into a passing league, that's changing. Having a back that can get the corner and kill in the passing game might be the way to go now. It's a spread-them-out league for most offenses.

That's why Bush is so valuable in New Orleans and why the Saints have chosen to keep him in 2010, even though he has a hefty salary. Bush's ability to run wide and be a factor in the passing game negates his lack of inside running ability. Did you see his playoff game against Arizona? He ran inside for a long touchdown and returned a punt for a score.

Spiller's game is often compared to Bush's, which he finds flattering.

"Everybody's going to compare me to whoever," Spiller said. "Like I tell people all the time, every running back is different. I can't go to an organization and try to be Reggie Bush. It's just not going to happen. The only thing I can do is just try to go be C.J. Spiller. It's great to be in that company. Reggie Bush has done a phenomenal job while he's been in the NFL. Even to be mentioned in that company is a humbling experience for me."

Bush also didn't like the questions about his inability to run inside when asked about it last spring. And said there are no issues.

"I run the plays that are called," Bush said. "I don't think that is going to break me or make me. I don't feel like running the ball between the tackles is going to win us a championship or win us a Super Bowl or me MVP. It's being versatile, being able to run it inside the tackles, outside the tackles, return punts, catch the ball out of the backfield and catch it as a receiver. That's what I do. That's who I am."

C.J. Spiller is lightning quick, but it's his game-changing ability that will benefit whichever team drafts him. (Getty Images)

Spiller's 92-yard punt return against Maryland is the one people talk a lot about. He lost his shoe while escaping a tackler and ran 60 yards without it.

"I wasn't really looking for them to kick me the ball deep," Spiller said. "We went into the game with them not really kicking it. Once they did, I just read my blocks. I ended up, lucky for me, running into one of my teammates, Casey Nobles, I kind of bounced off him. That's one thing one of my coaches told me when I first got there, to just keep your feet moving. I did that. My shoe came off, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from running."

The team that drafts Spiller will probably use him on returns early in his career, but that will change. He will be way too valuable as a running back, and you won't want to risk him to injury.

But the return game is an extra benefit for now. Teams don't use high first-round picks on return men. Spiller will go high because of his ability as a running back. In the current NFL, he is a perfect piece for an offense, although some have questioned whether he can handle a 25-carry load.

"I went back and I proved that I can carry the ball 20 to 22 times a game and still last," Spiller said. 'I think I get stronger as the game goes on and get a better feel. But that's not my decision to make. That's going to be up to the coaches, what they think and how they use me."

Here's a bet whoever gets him will use him a lot. There is star power in those legs and, make no mistake about it, Spiller is no Mr. Softy.