Take Two: Can Clemson nab NC State legacy Will Shipley?
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK:
Monday: Top 10 revealed
Tuesday: Rivals100 revealed | New five-stars | Mind of Mike | Ranking top QBs
Wednesday: Rivals250 revealed
Thursday/Friday: Position rankings revealed
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
THE STORYLINE
Will Shipley is the No. 1 all-purpose back in the new 2021 rankings. He has 25 offers. Many schools from across the country are pursuing the Matthews (N.C.) Weddington standout.
Shipley is super fast out of the backfield, he’s explosive and he can do a lot of things whether it’s running between the tackles, lining up in the slot or anything else to make the offense move quickly down the field.
Shipley’s recruitment could be interesting as well. He has family connections to NC State. Clemson recently offered and the Tigers have basically been able to get whomever they want in their recruiting classes. Many others are also involved early.
Shipley put up major numbers in his sophomore season and he’s already drawing some heady comparisons to other elite all-purpose backs.
Can Clemson snag his commitment early or is Shipley going to keep everybody guessing for a long time since his recruitment remains wide open?
FIRST TAKE: Adam Friedman, Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic analyst
“Shipley does a lot of things really, really well. He has great track speed, he has great times there. On the field, he can do whatever he wants when he has the ball in his hands. He can run between the tackles, he can catch the ball on swing passes, he can reach the edge on hand-offs and sweeps. I’m really excited on what he can do at the high school level and what he will do at the college level.
“As far as recruiting, the Clemson offer is going to be huge for him. Notre Dame, Northwestern, USC, and Stanford are involved, plus his parents went to North Carolina State, so that will be a factor throughout his recruitment. South Carolina is also in the mix. His recruitment is pretty open, but look for him to narrow his list toward the end of this season. He’s waiting until September 1 to see which schools really turn up the heat on him.”
TAKE TWO: Mike Farrell, Rivals.com national recruiting director
“He can do a lot of things. You can utilize him in many different ways. He’s going to be compared to guys like Christian McCaffrey, Percy Harvin. He’s not as explosive an athlete as those two guys, but he is a Swiss Army knife who could be used as a slot receiver, inside hand-offs, reverses, as a running back out of the backfield to get him 25 touches a game any way you can.
“Clemson is hard to turn down, but with the family connections to NC State you have to feel they would have the advantage right now. A lot of it depends on how NC State does this season and how he sees himself fitting in that offense. If things don't feel right, Clemson will be right there.”
