UNC-Duke Jordan Shipp Q&A: 'I Wouldn't Trade This Season'

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – After last weekend’s loss at Wake Forest – one that felt like a giant step back for a North Carolina team that had begun inching towards the right direction – wide receiver Jordan Shipp didn’t mince words, saying that the UNC offense needed to “look in the mirror, own up to it, and go finish these last two games.” 

Well, halfway through the aforementioned two-game stretch, Shipp yet again found himself in the same position – addressing reporters after another losing effort from the Tar Heels. 

It’s a familiar spot for Shipp after North Carolina’s seven losses this season due to his mature, team-first nature with reporters – and Saturday was no different. 

Watch Shipp’s complete interview below and read some noteworthy excerpts here… 

When asked about how the team is dealing with the loss:

“Man, it sucks. I just went in there, hugged Kobe (Paysour) and told him I loved him. That’s all you could do. Like I said, I was playing not for me, I wanted to win that for Kobe. Just came up short but Kobe balled out, all of our seniors balled out, they all made plays, 29 (Marcus Allen) made some great plays on the ball. Man, just everybody left it all out there, and we were just a couple plays away, just a couple plays away…”

When asked if he expected the game to be chippy: 

“Yeah, of course. It’s a rivalry game, playing for the (Victory) Bell. I expected it, I expected there to be a fight after the game, to be honest with you. There was a back and forth, a grabbing session on the first play, the first kickoff. You expect that with rivals, we expect the same thing next week. We expect those guys to be just as chippy and we’re gonna bring that same energy as well, so we’re gonna match it and bring it more…”

When asked about if he ever thought the season could go how it has:

“Nobody thinks you’re going to come into the season and go 4-7, no matter who’s your coach. You could have a first-year coach that’s never played before and you don’t think you’re gonna go 4-7…

“The best thing about the beginning of the season is that it’s a fresh start for everybody. Everybody’s thinking they’re gonna go 12-0, make the playoffs, win the national championship, that’s what everybody’s playing for. We were thinking the same thing, but like I said, whole new team, whole new staff, we just started gelling a little later and things happen, it is what it is, man…

“I wouldn’t trade this season in for nothing else. I wouldn’t trade the relationships that I’ve built with a lot of those guys. You really think about it, I would have never known Thad (Dixon) if we didn’t get in all the Belichicks. I wouldn’t have known Drew (Simpson), I wouldn’t have known Khmori House, Peyton Waters, Jason Robinson Jr. All those West Coast guys that came in, I would have known none of them. That’s just God bringing people together, that’s just what it is to me…

“So I mean 4-7, 0-12, 12-0, I wouldn’t trade it for any of those guys at all.”