Clemson sophomore running back Will Shipley was interviewed during College Football Overtime on ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM following the Tigers’ 34-28 win over Florida State on Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.
Shipley was asked what his message is to all the people who were sort of giving up on the Tigers (7-0, 5-0 ACC) earlier this season.
“What I would say to them is we’ve had doubters going all the way back from last year,” Shipley said. “Coming out, not having the year that we want to have, we wanted to come this season and prove them wrong, and that’s what I believe we’re doing. We’re 7-0, got a huge matchup next week against Syracuse that we’re all pumped about, and we’re just ready to go – keeping our head down and just focusing on ourselves.”
Shipley tallied a career-best 238 all-purpose yards (121 rushing, 48 receiving, 69 kickoff return) in leading the Tiger attack on Saturday.
As for his receiving yards, the Weddington, N.C., native and former five-star prospect joked that it’s a lot more fun catching the ball out of the backfield and being tackled by defensive backs rather than being brought down by big men up front on a defensive line.
“Heck yes, it is. I would rather get tackled by a safety or cornerback instead of a 300-pound D-lineman any day of the week,” he said, laughing.
“But it’s a ton of fun just being used a multitude of ways in this offense, and that’s what Coach (Brandon) Streeter has done so well is he kind of shapes this offense to get the playmakers the ball and just kind of say go make plays, and that’s what our offense is gonna run off of. So to be able to catch the ball and know that DJ (Uiagalelei) has trust in me to throw me the ball, it’s a huge deal and it’s something that I look forward to building off of.”
Speaking of Uiagalelei, Clemson’s junior quarterback accounted for four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) in the win over the Seminoles. He was 15-of-23 through the air for 203 yards and and picked up a 5-yard rushing touchdown to boot.
In seven games this season, Uiagalelei has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,665 yards and 17 touchdowns with just two interceptions, to go with 337 rushing yards and four more scores on the ground.
“He’s played out of his mind,” Shipley said. “Everybody on this football team knew what type of year 5 was gonna have, and nobody else, looking in, would’ve said that he could do it. But he’s one of the most hardworking, dedicated, just has so much perseverance, and I wouldn’t want to be next to anybody (else) as my quarterback.”
Shipley is excited to face the ACC’s only other undefeated squad in Syracuse (6-0, 3-0) on Saturday at Death Valley and share the field with a quarterback he is very familiar with in Garrett Shrader, as well as a running back he has a lot of respect for in Sean Tucker.
“I’m not going to lie, it definitely would’ve caught me by surprise if you told me that (Syracuse would be unbeaten at this point) before the season started,” Shipley said. “But I’m so happy for that football team as well. I’ve actually got a really good relationship with Garrett Shrader, their quarterback. Grew up with him. My brother and him were really good friends in the same grade. So, I’m excited to get to play against him and compete against him.”
“And then you talk about Sean Tucker, their running back,” Shipley continued. “That’s somebody that coming into this league, that I wanted to put my name next to his. I want to be able to compete against him as one of the best running backs in the ACC, in the country, and next week’s going to be a big showdown. So, I’m pumped about it. It’s going to be a ton of fun.”
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