A talented running back from the Tar Heel State, who is drawing interest from Clemson, returned to Tiger Town last month to compete at the Dabo Swinney Camp.
Charlotte (N.C.) Christian School’s Ryan Henley – a 5-foot-10, 184-pound rising junior in the class of 2024 – worked out at the camp on June 2.
“I loved it,” Henley said of his Swinney Camp experience in an interview with The Clemson Insider. “Every time I get down to Clemson, I really like it. Being around all the players and the coaches, it’s just great to be around that environment and the culture. And getting to see how the players interact with each other, I think that’s really important to me. I just think it’s cool to see that they all enjoy their time out there. They don’t really have to be out there. That’s not a mandatory thing for some of those guys, but they take their time and go out there with us and give us their knowledge. So, I really appreciate all that from all the running backs, and the coaches as well.”
Speaking of the coaches, Henley caught the eye of Clemson running backs coach C.J. Spiller at the Swinney Camp last summer, and according to Henley, Spiller was even more impressed by Henley’s camp performance this summer.
“Coach Spiller really loved everything I did,” Henley said. “He said it was more impressive this year than last year. I’m bigger, faster, stronger – I think that’s really what stood out to him. Obviously, I had a strong performance last year, but I went in with high expectations for myself, and I think I exceeded those. So, I think that he was extremely impressed. He really liked everything he saw. The other running backs on the team as well, they really liked everything they saw, from Will (Shipley) to Kobe (Pace) and Phil (Mafah) to Kevin (McNeal) and all those guys. So, I got to talk with them a little bit, and that was great to build a relationship with some of those guys, and I just loved getting to talk with them and have their help throughout the camp. It was great.”
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).
Henley and Shipley have gotten to know each other, have a good relationship and have worked out together on several occasions, and the Swinney Camp allowed the two to catch up last month.
“He was really happy for me that I did well at the camp,” Henley said of Shipley. “There’s kind of a mutual respect there between the two of us. But he really liked everything I did. Just told me to keep in contact with him so we can continue our relationship. He said he was going to let me know the next time he comes back home so we can work together again. But outside of that, we kind of talked about life and everything, just talked about other sports that I played and everything. Just kind of chopping it up with him, which was good to do because I haven’t talked with him in a little bit.”
Henley is definitely planning to return to Clemson for a game this fall and might even make it back to campus again this month, while Spiller expressed his intent to see Henley play in person this season.
“Oh for sure, I’ll be back during the season,” he said. “I already talked with Coach Spiller about that. He’s going to get me back down there sometime this fall. He said he was going to come check out one of my games just to see what I’m like in person, because obviously that’s a big part of the whole thing is seeing how you play in person. And then he wanted me back down there for a barbeque (Clemson’s annual All In Cookout). He said that was sometime in July, but he wasn’t exactly sure. So, my coach has been talking to him to figure out when that’ll be. But I’m definitely excited to get back down there again. I’ll for sure make my way down there for a game. I love the gameday environment at Clemson.”
Henley, who also visited Clemson for the Florida State game last October, said his latest trip to campus “definitely strengthened my feelings I had about Clemson.”
“It kind of reassured me of what I had from last year, and the gameday visit that I had against Florida State kind of validated all those feelings that I had,” he said. “It showed me that those coaches, they really do care about you and that the culture was not just a one-time thing at that camp. It’s a consistent thing, and I really liked that. Their message stayed true from last summer to fall to this summer, and I think that’s really meaningful to me to see that message be consistent.”
Along with Clemson, schools such as South Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Syracuse and UConn have shown interest in Henley, who also camped at South Carolina, Virginia, Duke, Wake Forest, Appalachian State and UNC Charlotte this summer.
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