Best Tigers player … Ever?

CLEMSON -- To fully appreciate C.J. Spiller, visit the locker room after the Florida State victory.

Amid the euphoria, Spiller sat alone at his locker. He had just recorded a career-best 312 all-purpose yards. He was in visible pain. His turf toe injury was aggravated, but so were hip and knee injuries that were not widely publicized.

The first person to approach Spiller was longtime Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret.

"It was then I understood how much pain he had played through -- he had a hurt knee, hurt toe, hurt hip," said Bourret, who has been at Clemson since 1978. "I think I'll remember him after 312 yards, sitting at his locker just sore. He just told me how much he had gutted it out this year. … I just wondered if he was going to able to do interviews.

"I wonder how many yards he would have had if he hadn't injured that toe."

For Bourret and others, it is a time for reflection as Spiller -- who did do those interviews -- reaches his final college game. When looking back at Spiller's body of work, it raises a good question.

Is Spiller the best Tiger of all time?

With two more touchdowns, Spiller will break Don McCauley's single-season ACC touchdown mark (21) set in 1970.

Spiller already has the ACC record for all-purpose yardage in a career. He has the

NCAA record for kick return touchdowns. This season, he has produced three times the number of 50-yard plus touchdowns (9) Reggie Bush had in his Heisman-winning season, more than Heisman winner Tim Brown had for his career at Notre Dame.

Bourret is a walking encyclopedia of Clemson football statistics and lore. He said Spiller is the best Clemson offensive player of all-time -- perhaps the best overall.

"I'd say he's certainly top three," Bourret said. "It's been a challenge for me to look up all the records ... He's the most talented all-around football player. He's certainly the best offensive player. We have a great tradition of defensive players, and I would not want to slight Terry Kinard and Jeff Davis."

Davis and Kinard are two of six football players in the Ring of Honor, joining Banks McFadden, Fred Cone, Jerry Butler and Steve Fuller.

It is exclusive company Spiller is likely to join. It was announced earlier this month his No. 28 will be retired.

Kinard was a two-time All-American defensive back for the Tigers, and CBS' defensive player of the year in 1982.

Davis --"The Judge" -- posted a then-Clemson record 175 tackles in 1981, becoming just the third defensive player to earn conference MVP honors in the ACC.

Former Clemson coach Danny Ford said people forget how good quarterback Steve Fuller was. Spiller tied Fuller for a school-best Heisman finish this season (sixth).

And like everyone who follows Clemson today, Ford can't judge McFadden, who played before World War II (1937-40).

"Once every 10 to 15 years, there is a player as good as Spiller," Ford said. "In the modern era, Spiller is as good as any player ... I don't know I've ever seen anybody as good in space and on the perimeter.

"He means the same thing to this team that (Davis and Kinard) meant to the (early 1980s) teams."

By returning, Spiller might not have earned any more NFL money and put off a year of free agency. Most projections have him as a mid first-round prospect, and Spiller earned a first-round grade last year.

What is hard to measure is the value added to his legacy.

Spiller said during bowl practice he has no regrets about returning and he has no regrets about choosing a small town in the Upstate over Florida, where he would have won a national title.

What he has gained is status as a signature player. It is a title he might not have gained by forgoing his final season, or by playing in the shadow of Tim Tebow.

"He's certainly the most respected football player," Bourret said. "I will say the demonstration by the board of trustees (which gave Spiller a standing ovation at his graduation) ... that was totally spontaneous.

"I think he really wanted to win an ACC championship. I think he really did want to go to New York, not from a selfish standpoint, but knowing it would be a great step for the program. I don't know that he is going to make any extra money by coming back, but he certainly enhanced his legacy."

Reach Travis Sawchik at tsawchik@postandcourier.com and check out his Clemson blog at www.postandcourier.om/blogs/tiger_tracks.