Will Shipley updates the latest on his football future

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Thu Dec 14 19:26:27 GMT-04:00 2023

No final decision yet for one Tiger.

Standout running back Will Shipley told the media on Thursday night that it is between the NFL draft or returning to Clemson for another season.

"It's either going to the big league or coming back here for another year," Shipley said. "Wish I could have an answer by now, but it just hasn't come to me."

Shipley has ruled out transferring because he said he talked it over with his family, and they don't believe it is right for how he has been treated at Clemson.

"Transferring is not something my family and I think we represent. There’s good opportunities to do so, but I freakin’ love Clemson University and what it's done for me. I feel like I'd be doing myself and everyone a disservice if I took that route."

Shipley rushed 156 times for 798 yards with five touchdowns and has caught 29 passes for 235 yards with two receiving touchdowns in 461 snaps over 11 games (eight starts) this season.

Shipley enters the 2023 bowl season with 2,718 yards and 31 touchdowns on 515 career rushing attempts and 593 yards and two touchdowns on 83 career receptions in 1,485 offensive snaps over 35 career games (27 starts).

He is also credited with 32 career kickoff returns for 810 yards (25.3 avg.) and one pass attempt for a two-yard touchdown.

Last season, 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). He was among four finalists for the Paul Hornung Award (the nation's most versatile player).

A former 5-star prospect, Shipley 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.

As a junior, he became the ninth member of the Clemson program all-time to earn AFCA Good Works Team honors, joining Robert Carswell (1999), Nick Eason (2000), Xavier Dye (2009), Deshaun Watson (2016), Sean Pollard (2018), Dabo Swinney (2019), Trevor Lawrence (2020) and Darien Rencher (2021)