If Clemson eventually becomes the most popular college football program in Major League Baseball clubhouses we shouldn’t be surprised. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney, after all, just won a College Football Playoff national championship while moonlighting as skipper of his son Clay’s fundamentally sound Orange Crush 12U travel baseball team.
And now Swinney has two former big leaguers on his football staff, student assistant coaches Bill Spiers and Kyle Parker.
Spiers, 51, took some ribbing from a pair of baseball Hall of Famers last year when he went http://www.clemsonfootballclub.com/jc-chalk-jersey-c-38.html back to school after a 13 year Major League career that ended in 2001. In colorful language, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell wanted tickets, and wanted to know how their former Houston Astros teammate was going to handle a college student’s homework load.
“I didn’t really have a choice,” Spiers said. “Coach Swinney recruited me.”
The hard sell Upon learning that Spiers never graduated after playing baseball and football at Clemson in the 1980s, Swinney said, “You really need to do this – for your kids.”
Parker, 27, played in only 64 Major League games over the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Colorado Rockies. But the former Clemson quarterback/outfielder also brings something special to a football coaching staff.
A professional baseball grind is all about expectations and execution, high stakes ups and downs, agents and contracts. Having nuggets like Spiers and Parker so deep within the tutelage roster gives Swinney one more little edge. It is shrewd use of a program called Tiger Trust, which allows student athletes who left school early for pro careers to return and get a degree at Clemson expense.
“I feel kind of old being around some of these guys but I’ve been around athletics all of my life and this feels like a good thing,” Parker said. “This is a great opportunity for me, and I think having played football at Clemson and all the things I’ve gone through in baseball helps me relate to guys on this team.”
Family ties
The royal resumes are all about familiarity and family.
Spiers’ late father Bud was a shortstop who helped Clemson reach the 1958 College World Series. Bud Spiers’ .947 field percentage was a school shortstop record that stood until Bill broke it in 1987 .950 , the year the Milwaukee Brewers made him the 13th overall pick in the Major League draft.
Michael Spiers John Simpson Jersey, Bill’s brother, played baseball at Clemson and was MVP of the 1991 ACC Tournament. Michael’s son Carson was a Clemson freshman pitcher/infielder in 2017.
Bill’s son Will, a 6 5, 230 pound redshirt freshman punter, is No. 1 on the Clemson depth chart with the departure of Andy Teasdall. And daughter Ashley serves as one of Swinney’s administrative assistants.
Bill Spiers became the family’s first Tigers punter when he took a break from Clemson baseball to answer former head coach Danny Ford’s tryout call in 1986. Ford called him “Billy Shortstop” while Spiers averaged 39.2 yards per punt. The Tigers went 8 2 2 and beat Stanford in the Gator Bowl.
Baseball helped Spiers with football, and football toughness came in handy when facing the likes of Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens.
“To go through what I’ve gone through, all the games and all the travel and all those experiences, I think it helps to be able to share that with players,” said Spiers, married with three children. “It might not be the same experience they will have but it’s the kind of preparation for a big game that they go through and that I’ve gone through.”
Spiers isn’t new to coaching. He served as head football and baseball coach at Calhoun Academy in St. Matthews, just down the road from his hometown of Cameron. Spiers led the Cavaliers to state titles in both sports.
But his postseason highlight came Jan. 9 in Tampa.
“We made the playoffs three times when I was with the Astros but never got past the Divisional round http://www.clemsonfootballclub.com/cordrea-tankersley-jersey-c-39.html, even though we thought we were going to the World Series when we traded for Randy Johnson in 1998,” Spiers said. “Randy was 10 1 for us after the trade but he lost 2 1 in Game 1 of the playoffs to San Diego’s Kevin Brown, a guy I had gone against since he was at Georgia Tech and I was at Clemson. Being on the sideline for the national championship game was an unbelievable feeling, something I never experienced in baseball.”
Monte Lee, too
Parker started 27 games and threw for 32 touchdowns over the 2009 and 2010 seasons, and hit well enough to have the Rockies pick him in the first round of the 2010 draft. Like Spiers, he is not sure if he wants to make coaching a profession. But making an impact on the lives of young football players is a way of life in the Parker family.
Carl Parker, Kyle’s dad and a former NFL wide receiver, is head football coach at Lanier County High School in Valdosta, Ga. Kyle’s mom Cathy Parker gained fame after watching a 2006 ESPN documentary on high school football in the remote northern Alaska town of Barrow. Her efforts to build an 800 http://www.clemsonfootballclub.com/nolan-turner-jersey-c-37.html,000 state of the art artificial turf field were the subject of the NFL Network’s “Football Town Barrow, Alaska.” Paramount is developing a movie project based on the Parker story.
“To see her do all that with so much enthusiasm and to know what that means to those people in Alaska, I’m just so proud of her,” Kyle Parker said.
Both Spiers and Parker expect to get college degrees during the 2017 2018 school year, Spiers in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management in December, Parker in Communications in May.
It isn’t unusual to have former pro athletes come back to their former schools and serve in various coaching roles. Swinney has had former Clemson teammates of Spiers Terry Allen, Keith Jennings and Donnell Woolford and Parker Thomas Austin, Tyler Grisham return from the NFL to serve in graduate assistant or analyst roles.
Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee in 2018 will have former big leaguers Ben Paulsen and Mark Davidson as student assistants. Paulsen is Parker’s former Clemson and Rockies teammate.
Davidson, 56, won a World Series ring with the 1987 Minnesota Twins.
But not many football coaches find ex baseball guys willing to pitch in like this example of Swinney loyalty that comes with a resourceful twist.
And now Swinney has two former big leaguers on his football staff, student assistant coaches Bill Spiers and Kyle Parker.
Spiers, 51, took some ribbing from a pair of baseball Hall of Famers last year when he went http://www.clemsonfootballclub.com/jc-chalk-jersey-c-38.html back to school after a 13 year Major League career that ended in 2001. In colorful language, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell wanted tickets, and wanted to know how their former Houston Astros teammate was going to handle a college student’s homework load.
“I didn’t really have a choice,” Spiers said. “Coach Swinney recruited me.”
The hard sell Upon learning that Spiers never graduated after playing baseball and football at Clemson in the 1980s, Swinney said, “You really need to do this – for your kids.”
Parker, 27, played in only 64 Major League games over the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Colorado Rockies. But the former Clemson quarterback/outfielder also brings something special to a football coaching staff.
A professional baseball grind is all about expectations and execution, high stakes ups and downs, agents and contracts. Having nuggets like Spiers and Parker so deep within the tutelage roster gives Swinney one more little edge. It is shrewd use of a program called Tiger Trust, which allows student athletes who left school early for pro careers to return and get a degree at Clemson expense.
“I feel kind of old being around some of these guys but I’ve been around athletics all of my life and this feels like a good thing,” Parker said. “This is a great opportunity for me, and I think having played football at Clemson and all the things I’ve gone through in baseball helps me relate to guys on this team.”
Family ties
The royal resumes are all about familiarity and family.
Spiers’ late father Bud was a shortstop who helped Clemson reach the 1958 College World Series. Bud Spiers’ .947 field percentage was a school shortstop record that stood until Bill broke it in 1987 .950 , the year the Milwaukee Brewers made him the 13th overall pick in the Major League draft.
Michael Spiers John Simpson Jersey, Bill’s brother, played baseball at Clemson and was MVP of the 1991 ACC Tournament. Michael’s son Carson was a Clemson freshman pitcher/infielder in 2017.
Bill’s son Will, a 6 5, 230 pound redshirt freshman punter, is No. 1 on the Clemson depth chart with the departure of Andy Teasdall. And daughter Ashley serves as one of Swinney’s administrative assistants.
Bill Spiers became the family’s first Tigers punter when he took a break from Clemson baseball to answer former head coach Danny Ford’s tryout call in 1986. Ford called him “Billy Shortstop” while Spiers averaged 39.2 yards per punt. The Tigers went 8 2 2 and beat Stanford in the Gator Bowl.
Baseball helped Spiers with football, and football toughness came in handy when facing the likes of Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens.
“To go through what I’ve gone through, all the games and all the travel and all those experiences, I think it helps to be able to share that with players,” said Spiers, married with three children. “It might not be the same experience they will have but it’s the kind of preparation for a big game that they go through and that I’ve gone through.”
Spiers isn’t new to coaching. He served as head football and baseball coach at Calhoun Academy in St. Matthews, just down the road from his hometown of Cameron. Spiers led the Cavaliers to state titles in both sports.
But his postseason highlight came Jan. 9 in Tampa.
“We made the playoffs three times when I was with the Astros but never got past the Divisional round http://www.clemsonfootballclub.com/cordrea-tankersley-jersey-c-39.html, even though we thought we were going to the World Series when we traded for Randy Johnson in 1998,” Spiers said. “Randy was 10 1 for us after the trade but he lost 2 1 in Game 1 of the playoffs to San Diego’s Kevin Brown, a guy I had gone against since he was at Georgia Tech and I was at Clemson. Being on the sideline for the national championship game was an unbelievable feeling, something I never experienced in baseball.”
Monte Lee, too
Parker started 27 games and threw for 32 touchdowns over the 2009 and 2010 seasons, and hit well enough to have the Rockies pick him in the first round of the 2010 draft. Like Spiers, he is not sure if he wants to make coaching a profession. But making an impact on the lives of young football players is a way of life in the Parker family.
Carl Parker, Kyle’s dad and a former NFL wide receiver, is head football coach at Lanier County High School in Valdosta, Ga. Kyle’s mom Cathy Parker gained fame after watching a 2006 ESPN documentary on high school football in the remote northern Alaska town of Barrow. Her efforts to build an 800 http://www.clemsonfootballclub.com/nolan-turner-jersey-c-37.html,000 state of the art artificial turf field were the subject of the NFL Network’s “Football Town Barrow, Alaska.” Paramount is developing a movie project based on the Parker story.
“To see her do all that with so much enthusiasm and to know what that means to those people in Alaska, I’m just so proud of her,” Kyle Parker said.
Both Spiers and Parker expect to get college degrees during the 2017 2018 school year, Spiers in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management in December, Parker in Communications in May.
It isn’t unusual to have former pro athletes come back to their former schools and serve in various coaching roles. Swinney has had former Clemson teammates of Spiers Terry Allen, Keith Jennings and Donnell Woolford and Parker Thomas Austin, Tyler Grisham return from the NFL to serve in graduate assistant or analyst roles.
Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee in 2018 will have former big leaguers Ben Paulsen and Mark Davidson as student assistants. Paulsen is Parker’s former Clemson and Rockies teammate.
Davidson, 56, won a World Series ring with the 1987 Minnesota Twins.
But not many football coaches find ex baseball guys willing to pitch in like this example of Swinney loyalty that comes with a resourceful twist.