‘I absolutely love South Carolina’: Gamecocks high on list for talented NC tailback
Will Shipley says he patterns his game after Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.
And like McCaffrey, Shipley figures to be one of the top running backs in the country by his senior year of high school. 247Sports ranks the Weddington High School (NC) rising junior as the top all-purpose running back in the country and 48th overall recruit for the Class of 2021.
Shipley showed off his skills Sunday and earned running back MVP honors and had the highest score from any athlete at The Opening regional at Rocky River High School in Mint Hill, North Carolina.
“I just wanted to get better with great coaches and competition out here,” Shipley said Sunday. “I am very competitive and want to be the best in what I do.”
Shipley had a big sophomore season in helping Weddington to Class 3AA championship. He rushed for 1,417 yards and 19 touchdowns and also caught 28 passes for 393 yards and six scores.
Shipley also had 48 tackles on defense.
The 5-foot-11, 203-pound Shipley tries to do as much as he can to help on offense in both the running and passing game, something he gets from watching McCaffrey.
“I like how they like to split him out. He is so versatile,” Shipley said of McCaffrey. “He can make anyone miss. He can go line up on a cornerback and run a good route. That is how I want to play my game.”
South Carolina is one of the schools Shipley is considering. He has visited the school on several occasions, attending bowl practice and USC spring practice last month. Bobby Bentley was recruiting Shipley but passed those duties to Thomas Brown, the Gamecocks’ new running back coach.
“I absolutely love South Carolina, the feel I get from there and the family environment,” Shipley said. “All my relationships with the coaches are really, really good. It kind of started with coach Bentley and then he was switched with tight ends and now with coach Brown. Got to see him coach and talk to coach Muschamp and definitely going to keep talking with him.”
Shipley also is considering NC State, Duke, Stanford (McCaffrey’s alma mater) and Northwestern. He picked up offers from Notre Dame and Georgia Tech this week.
Shipley has visits set up with Stanford and Northwestern. North Carolina State is where both of his parents went to school and where more than a dozen relatives went.
Shipley said he probably will narrow down his choices in the next few months and then go from there. He doesn’t have a timetable for making a decision but when he does make it he doesn’t plan on going back on it.
“Maybe make top five or six in summer,” Shipley said. “And whenever it feels right and don’t want to make a premature decision. When I make it I don’t want any regrets and not be loyal to that school.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 5:20 PM.