Shipley says his all-around game will thrive in Garrett Riley's offense

Will Shipley is ready to see his game unleashed in the Garrett Riley offense.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu May 18 07:00:22 GMT-04:00 2023

Will Shipley is poised to show everything he can do at the running back spot, and he thinks he can do that, thanks to Garrett Riley’s offense.

Shipley hasn’t exactly been a slouch during his first two seasons at Clemson. He is one of the nation’s most dynamic and versatile running backs who enters the 2023 season with 1,920 yards and 26 touchdowns on 359 career rushing attempts and 358 yards on 54 career receptions in 1,024 offensive snaps over 24 career games (19 starts). He also has 27 career kickoff returns for 704 yards (26.1 avg.) as well as one pass attempt for a two-yard touchdown.

Shipley made an instant impact as a freshman in 2021 and followed that campaign with a 2022 season in which he became the first player in ACC history to be selected as a first-team All-ACC honoree in three different categories (running back, all-purpose and specialist) and was one of four finalists for the Paul Hornung Award (nation’s most versatile player). He joined Clemson’s Travis Etienne, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard as the only ACC players to rush for 11 or more touchdowns in both their freshman and sophomore campaigns since 2000.

During a recent appearance on Next Up With Adam Breneman, Shipley was asked what makes him different than other running backs.

“I think it’s my ability to do anything that I’m asked to do,” Shipley said. “And just my toughness, I switch into a mode that sometimes I don’t even like when I’m not on, right? Then, the adrenaline gets going. I’ve laid down my life on the field to get to get a win and for my brothers, so I guess when I get on that field, something different happens. Then the all purpose ability and being able to catch the football and I think it’s something that I’ve shown in the past two years, but there hasn’t been much opportunity to do so.”

Shipley said he can’t wait to see what he can do in Riley’s offense, which is designed to get the best offensive players matched up against the weakest defenders on the defense.

“I’ve had some hurdles to get over with that so pumped about Coach Riley and things that I think are going to come to fruition this year and I’ll really be able to show people what I can do,” Shipley said. “Catching the ball out of the backfield, playing in the slot and just being able to create matchups anywhere on the field.”

Shipley then went on to say that he doesn’t think of himself as a running back. He’s just a football player.

“I don’t like to think of myself as (a) running back,” Shipley said. “But, at the same time, I don’t ever want people to think that I won’t take 20 carries in between the tackles. I love it. I love that stuff (and) I love getting hit, man. That’s what people don’t realize about me and you can ask my teammates, but I’m just crazy out there. Once I switch into that football player mode, I love every part of it.”