Shipley and his family shed tears as Clemson feature goes public

Will Shipley said the Clemson feature on his family and hometown left him in tears.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Aug 05 14:08:00 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – The first time Will Shipley sat down with his family to watch the Clemson-produced feature on what has made him into the person and player he is today, there were plenty of tears to go around.

Shipley was featured on House Call – Will Shipley, a look at what drives the junior running back and how he got to this point. The segment debuted Friday night on the Clemson football YouTube channel. Shipley said he was all for the idea once Kyle Coulter, the Director of Creative Solutions for the athletic department, approached him.

“I was quick to answer yes,” Shipley said of the project, “just because, first of all, my family is very, very important to me. Second of all, Weddington (his hometown in North Carolina) has been a place that has propelled me to where I am today. There is no doubt about it. When he came to me about the idea, we had a couple of schedule conflicts, but we found a way. Kyle does such a great job. My family and I were in tears while we were watching it. It just shows you how good it is. It is very special, and we definitely wanted to make it happen.”

Shipley is projected as one of the top backs in the country and recently led a contingent of seven Clemson selections on the preseason All-ACC football team. Shipley was the leading vote-getter on the team, named on 169 of the ballots cast by a panel of 176 media members.

Shipley, who became the first player to earn first-team honors at three positions last year, repeated that feat as he was chosen as running back, all-purpose back and specialist. He rushed for 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2022, adding 38 receptions for 242 yards and posting a 24.9-yard average on kickoff returns.

There is a part in the segment where Shipley says it was more about proving people right than proving people wrong, and he went into detail about what that meant.

“I think there is a misconception, especially with me, that there are more people that doubt me and doubt my success and where I am headed in the future,” Shipley said. “But at the end of the day, I have had so many people supporting me from day one. Starting with my family. Starting with my brother. Starting with all of my grandparents and really the town of Weddington. I had very few people tell me that I couldn't do it. Even when I didn't believe I could do it myself, they were always behind me, rallying and just making me believe. That is what I meant by that - don't focus on the negative, and don't focus on the people that think you can't make it there. But rather do it for the ones that thought you could do it the whole time.”