Isaiah Spiller is the big running back out of Spring, Texas. A product of Texas A&M, he racked up a few accolades during his three years at the school. With a 2021 AP All-SEC second team appearance and a nod on the Coaches All-SEC Second Team. Spiller’s 16 games over 100 yards rushing throughout his career was the most since Greg Hill back in the early 1960s. With seven games this season as the leading game rusher, it was clear that the offense went through him.
Spiller had a strong showing in his final year in the SEC. Playing in 12 games while averaging 5.6 yards per carry, totaling 1,011 yards on 179 carries while running in six touchdowns. Spiller’s solid showing in his junior year helped the Aggies go 8-4 during the season enough to make the Gator Bowl. As the season progressed, it was clear that the game plan was behind the running attack, and Spiller was critical in this. Finally, a win against Missouri in 2021 saw Spiller lead all players in rushing with 168 yards. He showed everyone what he is capable of and why he is the top running back in the class.
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Player Bio
Name: Isaiah Spiller
Jersey: No. 28
Position: Running Back
School: Texas A&M
Class: Junior
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 215 lbs
Games Watched: Alabama (2021) Missouri (2021) Auburn (2021) UTSA (2019)
Significant Injury History: None
Player Breakdown
Vision (13.75/15)
Spiller shows great vision when running between the tackles. With a running style that is downhill and patient, all while being an aggressive runner. Due to this, he shows excellent vision while running between the tackles and a knack for finding the gap between tacklers in open space. While he effortlessly knows where to go on inside zone runs, his most significant show of vision is how he can cut back into a gap after showing that he would hit another. This allows Spiller to make the linebackers over-commit and give him a more extensive area to run. The extra bit of space offers Spiller a more significant place to run into, allowing him to gain those extra yards per carry.
Contact Balance (8.75/10)
Many times during the season, Spiller showed how he could brush off the contact from either the big men upfront or the linebackers in the middle. He has shown the preference for running headfirst into a defender to deal with punishment. However, in doing so, Spiller shows the ability to make contact with a defender and stay on his feet. With the contact-seeking running style of Spiller, it’s impressive to see how well he can stay on his feet after the contact. As a result, we see him bouncing off a tackle throughout the season while gaining another few yards before help comes.
Explosiveness (9/10)
An area that Spiller could improve in is his explosiveness. While he does flash good explosiveness between the tackles, he cannot have long broken-off runs. One of the positives about this is that he does show his long stride ability when downfield. However, he won’t be outrunning people down the sideline, but he will be a chain mover and a versatile threat. Due to Spiller being a bigger back, his role isn’t for his speed, it’s for his ability to gain the tough yards. Lacking the ability to have long speed, he makes up for it by having a massive amount of quickness getting through the hole. Furthermore, he shows excellent ability to get to his top speed at a relatively fast pace.
Long Speed (7/10)
This is the area of Spillers game that lacks luster. As mentioned before, Spiller doesn’t have long speed like other players in the league. However, this doesn’t mean he isn’t fast. Spiller is great at using what speed he has to gain extra yards. He uses his speed more in a box than using it to outrun someone. As a result, Spiller will not win in a foot race and will likely get tracked down on a big run. However, this doesn’t mean he isn’t good. He doesn’t need speed in his game as it’s more based around power and short-area burst.
Short-Area Burst (8.5/10)
Spiller being a north/south runner doesn’t mean that he isn’t quick. With a significant first step that allows him to break through the line. He shows the ability to have sharp lateral cuts and explode out of them. At the same time, he will be fast when coming in and out of cuts and past the line of scrimmage. He won’t be a shifty runner like Alvin Kamara, but instead, he would be dangerous for his burst.
Change of Direction (7.5/10)
Spiller’s game is based on getting downhill as fast as he can with a whole lot of power. It isn’t based on his shiftiness game; he doesn’t have excellent hips, while he can be shifty with his change of direction being just a little above average. With just good fluidity of the hips, he won’t be juking and dodging his way to the end zone. Furthermore, Spiller has solid hips that aren’t stiff, and he can run downhill and make cuts.
Power (8.75/10)
Spiller is arguably the best power back in the draft. His ability to get downhill in a hurry while carrying a lot of force behind his runs makes him a dangerous runner. In addition, Spiller shows how he can break tackles with his big body. However, the one main critique of Spiller is he sometimes plays softly. He has been known to play small and try to get too fancy when the best trait he has is power. He can run straight through people but sometimes chooses to go around them. While this won’t be a thing, the team holds against him in a big way; it is a critique. While he can make people miss in open space, it’s not his biggest strength.
Ball Security (8/10)
With Spiller losing eight fumbles during his three-year career at Texas A&M, he has shown the occasional fumble problem. However, it’s always a one-off, except against Mississippi State in 2021. Although it’s not often that he puts the ball on the ground, it has happened before. While Spiller doesn’t label being a fumble, it’s something to acknowledge. Furthermore, Spiller is a back who isn’t likely to fumble the ball, so it will be surprising when he does.
Receiving Ability (7.75/10)
While Spiller won’t be mistaken for Christian McCaffrey anytime soon, he shows the ability to win in the passing game. Where players like McCaffrey can line up at receiver in certain situations, Spiller is more of an out of the backfield catcher. With a route tree that is primarily screens, quick outs, and wheels near the line of scrimmage, he possesses a solid hand for a player of his skill set. Furthermore, Spiller shows the ability to track the ball down and poses good hands when thrown to him in the flat. However, don’t be looking for him to win contested catches over the middle of the field.
Pass Protection (5/5)
Spiller might be the best back in pass protection coming out of college this year. With his big frame and willing attitude to square up and take a blitzing linebacker head-on, he will protect his signal-caller. In addition, with the ability to get low and take an edge head-on just long enough for the quarterback to get the throw off, teams will rank this in high regard when considering selecting him. Furthermore, Spiller will be one that will rank high when it comes to his ability to block in pass protection which allows him to help his team even more.
Player Summary
Spiller will likely be one of the first running backs taken in the draft this year. With Spiller being a three-down back in the league, it’s not hard to see why he would be a highly sought-after player. He will be an excellent chain mover with his big frame and punishing running style for any team. While he is a more punishing back out of college, his agility and quickness in space shouldn’t be overlooked. Furthermore, Spiller is an all-around solid back with many abilities, whether between tackles or in space.
Rookie Projection: Starting Running Back
Third Year Projection: Elite Power Back
Final Grade (84/100): Early Second Round Pick
Player Comp: Ricky Williams, Ezekiel Elliott
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
