This talented running back from the Tar Heel State has put himself on the recruiting radar of Clemson and running backs coach C.J. Spiller.
Charlotte (N.C.) Christian School’s Ryan Henley – a 5-foot-10, 184-pound rising junior in the class of 2024 – is garnering quite a bit of early interest from Spiller and the Tigers.
“Clemson is one of the top ones (schools showing interest) right now,” Henley told The Clemson Insider. “They’ve been showing the most interest in me right now.”
Henley caught Spiller’s eye when he competed at the Dabo Swinney Football Camp last summer.
“I went to a camp last year after freshman year, and Coach Spiller just really liked what he saw,” Henley said. “He ended up taking me and my mom on a tour of the whole facility, just the three of us after. He really liked what I was doing out there, like my versatility and my ability to make things happen in the receiving game. I think that’s really what made me stand out from some of the other running backs there, was just the versatility that I have and my ability to run the whole route tree.”
Spiller wants Henley to camp at Clemson again this summer, so he plans to do so June 2.
After traveling to Clemson for camp last summer, Henley returned to Tiger Town last fall when he made an unofficial visit to Death Valley for the Florida State game in late October.
Asked what stood out to him from that visit experience, Henley replied, “Really just the culture that Dabo has created.”
“Obviously, the faith component, that was huge for me,” he added. “I love seeing that, and just how he treated his players. I thought that was great, just their ‘why’ for every single thing that they do. It’s more about developing you as a person … there’s an actual relationship with you, and I thought that was really cool and that really stood out to me compared to some of the other schools that I’ve visited. They really want to develop you as a person.”
As a sophomore last season, Henley rushed for more than 800 yards while averaging 8.1 yards per carry, and he racked up 900-plus all-purpose yards.
He tries to model his game after a fellow Charlotte-area native in Clemson rising sophomore running back Will Shipley – a product of Weddington (N.C.) High School who finished as the Tigers’ leading rusher as a true freshman last season (738 yards, 11 rushing touchdowns).
“I really like that he’s an extremely physical runner, just doesn’t go down on first contact,” Henley said of Shipley. “That’s a big part of my game. I don’t like to go down on first contact. I know he’s talked about that several times, too. And then his versatility as well out of the pass game, his ability to run routes out of the slot or even in the backfield – I think those are two things that really stand out to me whenever I watch him. Those are really cool.”
Henley and Shipley have gotten to know each other. They have a good relationship and have worked out together on several occasions.
Henley has no shortage of respect for Shipley – not only for what he can do on the football field, but also his humility and how he handles himself as a person as well.
“Going into freshman year, I trained with Will. I’ve trained with him multiple times,” Henley said. “He’s been a great role model for me to try and model my game. He’s offered a lot of knowledge that’s just rare to come by. He’s extremely successful at what he does, a highly ranked guy. But I think he’s so humble with it all and he’s able to keep the main thing the main thing. I like seeing what he does, and the way that he treats my parents with respect. He’s such a high-level player, he doesn’t really have to do that, so my level of respect for him is extremely high.”
Henley hopes to earn an offer from Clemson in the future and have the chance to follow in Shipley’s footsteps as a running back for the Tigers.
“It’d be really exciting and just be a blessing to receive an offer from them,” he said. “I’m really hoping that’s where things will go this summer. But obviously I know that I’m going to have to show up to camp and bring my best and show that I’ve improved from last year so I can just make sure I stand out.
“But I’d love to be able to suit up for Clemson one day. Obviously, Clemson’s one of my top schools, and being able to follow behind someone like Will would be great, just having that relationship with him before he got there, knowing him and knowing the person he’s becoming as a result of Coach Spiller and Coach Swinney. I think that’s great, and it gives me something to look forward to if I were to go to Clemson.”
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