At Big Creek High School, Spraggins lettered four times in football. In addition, he collected letters in basketball (3) and track (2). He was named honorable mention All-State and was also president of the National Honor Society. Spraggins was the third player in succession to cast his lot with WVU after outstanding high school careers at Big Creek High School. The others were Oscar Patrick and Bob Gresham (who went on to play for the New Orleans Saints).

Spraggins was one of the top three freshman at WVU and had a good spring. As a sophomore, he participated in every game as the number two defensive end behind Bob Sims. The following spring, he was moved to right linebacker. He had a great spring at that position and the coaches thought he was speedy and aggressive on defense. He was given the hustle award by coaches after that spring. Spraggins started at right linebacker his junior year and made 127 tackles, including two quarterback sacks. The following spring, he was voted as the most consistent player on defense by the coaches. Going into his senior year, Spraggins had a starting assignment for the second year in a row. He was a candidate for Academic All-American in 1973-74 with a 3.15 GPA.