In advance of the Texas A&M Pro Day on Tuesday, running back Isaiah Spiller is healthy and hopeful of an upgraded performance after a strained abductor muscle limited him at the NFL Scouting Combine. Hampered by the health issue, Spiller didn’t run the 40-yard dash or perform bench press at the Combine and had an average 30-inch vertical leap.
Two NFC South teams interested in Isaiah Spiller
Two NFC South teams have shown particularly strong interest in Spiller with steady contact throughout the NFL Draft process, according to league sources: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons.
Leonard Fournette is a free agent, as is Ronald Jones. The Falcons re-signed Cordarrelle Patterson, but they could use some more help in the backfield.
Spiller is a big, one-cut running back at 6’0″, 217 pounds. A former blue-chip recruit from Klein Collins High School, Spiller rushed for 1,011 yards and 6 touchdowns last season as an All-Southeastern Conference selection with 25 catches for 189 yards.
Spiller rushed for 1,036 yards and 9 touchdowns two seasons ago with 20 catches for 193 yards. He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection last season and a first-team pick in 2020. He’s elusive at the second level. He’s had some dings on him in scouting reports for his skills as a pass protector and as a pass-catching back.
Spiller met with the Buccaneers, Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins in Indianapolis at the NFL scouting combine, among others.
“It was nice,” Spiller said of meeting with Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. “He was cool. Hopefully, they like me,” adding that his meeting with Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was “really good.”
Training with the Footwork King
Spiller trains in a Houston suburb of Tomball with Rischad Whitfield, also known as the Footwork King, following a demanding regimen of football drills and agility work.
“I see the hole, and then I hit it,” Spiller said. “That comes with working with Rischad, Footwork King. Getting skinny and all, doing trash can drills, just getting better as a player. I feel like it helps me out a lot in that aspect.
“Even if the hole is tight, I still can get through it. Just trusting my ability, trust in my eyes. My eyes are going to lead my feet. So, that’s what I always do.”
Spiller said he patterns his game after NFL running backs Adrian Peterson, Le’Veon Bell, and Joe Mixon.
“I’d like to expand my game, my route game for sure,” Spiller said. “Prolonging my career in the NFL is a big deal for me. I feel like catching the ball on third down, being an all-around back, is really big in the NFL now, so I feel like my value would be really good.
“Catching, blocking, my vision, contact balance, I’m just an all-around back. I feel like that’s what really separates me from everybody else.”