RB Respect Month Vol. 2, Day 25: James Davis and CJ Spiller bring a storm to Georgia Tech (2006)
Thunder and Lightning at their very best.
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Welcome to day 25 of Running Back Respect Month™! Yesterday, Darren Sproles sealed the 2003 Big 12 North Title for Kansas State with 273 yards vs. Missouri. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:
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Today: James Davis and CJ Spiller vs. Georgia Tech (2006)
RB Respect Month Vol. 2, Day 25: James Davis and CJ Spiller bring a storm to Georgia Tech (2006)
While other programs probably promised 2006 five-star recruit CJ Spiller he'd be their workhorse back the second he stepped on campus, Clemson's coaches sold him the idea of playing alongside a running back they already had on their roster. The unconventional approach actually made sense beyond just trying to stockpile as much high-end talent as possible.
With the bruising James Davis coming off an 879-yard, nine-TD freshman season, the Tigers had visions of a prolific running back duo similar to what Auburn just had in Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown. In four seasons together, the Williams/Brown tandem combined for 6,528 yards rushing and 76 total touchdowns, leaving a trail of battered and gassed SEC defenses in their wake. The cherry on top of their careers that Clemson surely mentioned in their pitch to Spiller? Both Williams and Brown went in the top five of the 2005 NFL Draft:
Spiller ultimately bought into the vision, signing with the Tigers. Clemson not only had their duo, but pulled off what's in retrospect among the greatest single recruiting wins in modern college football history.
Through the first seven games of 2006, the plan was already coming to fruition. The Tigers were 6-1 and ranked 12th nationally. Davis had 745 rushing yards and 14 TD, while Spiller had 541 total yards and seven TD on 7.5 yards per touch. In game eight –a primetime showdown at home with No. 13 5-1 Georgia Tech– the two took things to a level that not even Clemson's coaches could've reasonably forseen in year one:
