Weddington 5-star running back Will Shipley picks Clemson over UNC, NC State
Weddington High School star running back Will Shipley has committed to play for Clemson and coach Dabo Swinney in 2021.
Shipley, who announced his college decision in a social media video Tuesday, chose the Tigers over N.C. State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Stanford. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 45 high school prospect in America and No. 3 in North Carolina. He’s the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country.
“This isn’t about me,” Shipley said on the video. “This is about the legacy that I want to leave behind. I promised myself I would do whatever it takes to achieve greatness, to make my family proud, and the journey has just begun.”
As a junior last season, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Shipley ran for 2,066 yards and 31 touchdown. He led Weddington to an unbeaten season and a second straight N.C. 3AA state championship. He ran for 256 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns in a 34-14 win over Lee County in the title game.
Shipley was the N.C. Gatorade player of the year and the Charlotte Observer offensive player of the year last season. He was also named a MaxPreps All-American.
He’s an honor roll student who has a 4.375 GPA.
A few weeks before the state championship game, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey direct messaged Shipley via Instagram, saying, “I see you from over here, man, and keep working. Keep doing your thing and good luck the rest of the season.”
“It was surreal,” Shipley said. “I just sat there and my mom was like, ‘Are you all right.’ And I was like, ‘No. Please tell me I’m seeing things.’ (McCaffrey) is obviously someone I try to model my game after, and to know he’s watching me and to know he sees what I’m doing over here means a lot.”
In the NFL, McCaffrey’s versatility makes him hard to stop. It’s the same for Shipley in high school.
“I’ve never seen someone who works as hard as he does,” Weddington coach Andy Capone said. “He’s got great balance; and he’s really good at setting up blocks; and he can run inside the tackle or outside the tackle; and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Put all that together and he’s hard to game plan for.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 3:06 PM.
