Back on May 5, 2020, Clemson landed a major commitment from one of the country’s top prospects when Will Shipley announced his commitment to the Tigers.
A former blue-chip recruit from Weddington (N.C.) High School ranked as the nation’s No. 1 all-purpose back in the 2021 class, Shipley chose Clemson over Notre Dame as well as offers from NC State – where both of his parents went to college – North Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State among many others.
During an interview on the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast, Shipley, now a rising junior at Clemson, reflected on his recruiting process and why he ultimately decided to choose Dabo Swinney’s program.
“I know a lot of people out there think that I had Clemson set on my mind, but I did not,” Shipley said. “Leading up to my decision, I was back and forth, talking to my parents, and I really didn’t know what to do. That’s just when I went to God in prayer, and I think one of the biggest factors, too, was that Clemson was my last visit. It was the last in-person visit that I had gone to, junior day, and just sitting there in front of Coach Swinney and hearing him talk about his program and where he sees his program going was huge in my decision.”
Shipley was recruited by Tony Elliott and said that the former Clemson assistant, who is of course now the head coach at Virginia, played the biggest role in his decision to be a Tiger.
“As I narrowed it down, Coach Elliott, he honestly had the biggest role in my commitment,” Shipley said, “and just the conversations that I had with him and the advice and the knowledge that he was willing to share with me is ultimately why I chose Clemson.”
Clemson fans are certainly happy that Shipley chose to play for the Tigers. One of the nation’s most dynamic and versatile running backs, he enters the 2023 season with 1,920 yards and 26 touchdowns on 359 career rushing attempts and 358 yards on 54 career receptions over 24 career games (19 starts) across the 2021-22 seasons.
Xavier Thomas is back to win another championship. Dear Old Clemson has added signed posters from Thomas to our online store. For this weekend only they are on sale at an introductory price of only $30.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 
Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.
Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”
Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”
Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!
