Will Shipley reveals what led to him dropping NC State from his recruiting list

Will Shipley will be going against his childhood team on Saturday when Clemson hosts NC State in a top 10 showdown. Being from Matthews, NC, Shipley has family ties to the Wolfpack program and was even recruited by them coming out of high school.

The now Clemson running back had the opportunity to reflect on his recruitment, explaining why it never worked out with NC State.

Coaching changes can be huge, especially when your main recruiter leaves a program. For Shipley, that was former co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Des Kitchings. He left Raleigh after the 2019 season and wound up with South Carolina. Shipley still has respect for NC State as a whole but said they never had a shot once Kitchings left.

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“It was pretty late on,” Shipley said on cutting NC State. “Just because of the family ties and because of how many visits, how close I had gotten with their coaching staff. If I remember correctly, when Des Kitchings left or got fired — whatever the case was — is when my interest in them went away. Coach Kitching and I’s relationship was really, really good.

“I think that coaching change is a huge thing especially when you get closer and closer to your commitment date. So when that happened, kind of veered away from them but it’s all respect. It was a great process with them throughout the whole thing. So, nothing but respect for them.”

More on Will Shipley, recruitment

Shipley was rated a four-star prospect by the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services, coming out of high school. The running back was on the cusp of five-star status, ranked No. 36 in the country. Only Ohio State‘s TreVeyon Henderson and Michigan‘s Donovan Edwards were higher rated at the position in the 2021 class.

Other programs such as Alabama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State got Shipley on campus for an unofficial visit during the process. However, Clemson was the one able to win out for the highly touted running back.

The decision has worked out well for Shipley, now entering his second season with the Tigers. He scored the second most touchdowns in program history by a true freshman, getting into the end zone 11 times. When Clemson has needed a big play offensively, Shipley has been the man. A huge recruiting win for head coach Dabo Swinney is paying off.