Will Shipley ‘dominated’ Tigers spring with elite speed

Clemson’s representatives at ACC Media Days — James Skalski, Matt Bockhorst and D.J. Uiagalelei — were each asked which freshmen impressed them the most over the spring and summer.

Each player mentioned different standouts, with one exception.

Everyone agreed on Will Shipley.

“Shipley is a big weapon,” said the sixth-year senior Skalski. “He’s got a lot of talent and they’re going to find a way to use him.”

Added Bockhorst: “Oh, dude. Will Shipley’s a dude. I’m excited to see what he does, I really am. I think that Will Shipley is gonna be an exceptional player, and I think he’s gonna make an impact this year.”

It’s no surprise that Shipley came in and immediately stood out. He was the highest-ranked recruit in Clemson’s class, a five-star prospect and the No. 2 ranked running back in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

But what is noteworthy is just how good he apparently was this spring against a Clemson defense that is expected to be one of the best in the nation.

“I mean he just dominates in practice, like, I can just say what I’ve seen. He dominates in practice. Straight up,” Bockhorst said. “I watch him in conditioning drills, he dusts everybody. I watch him in practice and he literally left everybody and scored. Like I’m telling you – he is a very good player. Whether or not it happens this year, the verdicts out on that. But he is a very good football player.”

Making Shipley’s early success at Clemson even more impressive is the fact that he didn’t have a senior season of high school football.

His team’s season was moved to this spring due to COVID-19, and Shipley opted to enroll at Clemson early to get a head start on his freshman year with the Tigers. It’s safe to say that decision is working out well for the Weddington, North Carolina native as he tries to earn some playing time for this fall.

Uiagalelei expects that he will.

“He would come out there and dominate, just the way he could run the rock, how fast he is. And just what his makeup is,” Uiagalelei said.

Clemson’s starting quarterback added that Shipley is the fastest player on the team, in his opinion.

“I remember one play in spring ball, we were playing a scrimmage. It was on [our] 30. We handed the ball off to him, it was a little inside zone. He broke through the line and just split the safeties and no one touched him. He was gone,” Uiagalelei said. “The fastest people on the team were trying to catch up to him and he was just out of there.”

Will Shipley rushed for over 2,000 yards while averaging 11 yards per carry as a junior in high school, his final prep season. It’s safe to say his skillset is transferring over just fine to the next level.