Can UNC or NC State keep Will Shipley, a 5-star Weddington RB, from leaving the state?
Will Shipley made Carter-Finley Stadium his playground Saturday night.
The Weddington junior running back led the Warriors to their second straight 3AA state championship, beating undefeated Lee County, 34-14.
Shipley wasn’t just Weddington’s go-to player on offense, he was the offense. The Warriors finished with 271 yards of total offense in the win. Shipley had 256 yards and four of their five touchdowns.
The five-star prospect has more than 20 scholarship offers, including from ACC programs like North Carolina, N.C. State and Duke But will he end up going to a school out of state like other top prospects before him??
Before Saturday’s game, Shipley had rushed for 1,639 yards and 25 touchdowns. Shipley, who’s 5-11 and 200 pounds, is the top all-purpose back in the nation for the class of 2021.
The historic performance in the state championship game puts Shipley at No. 8 all-time for most rushing yards in a title game. His second touchdown run of the day, a beautiful 67-yard jaunt down the left sideline showed Shipley’s vision, power and speed all in one play.
He was the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and was named the Most Valuable Player and the West Offensive Most Outstanding Player after the state title win.
He also lines up at safety, but all the damage he caused was on the offensive side of the ball.
But he is ready for the challenge the recruiting process brings.
“I’ve got a great support cast,” Shipley told the N&O after the state title game on Saturday. Coach (Andy) Capone, my parents, my brother, all my teammates. It’s so easy with all this pressure and attention because I can always lean back on them. I’m ready for it, everyone is going to help me out and we are ready for it.”
Top prospects head out of NC
With offers from in-state programs like NC State, Duke and North Carolina, the question now remains will Shipley head to an out-of-state school like so many top North Carolina prospects have done?
Since 2012 there have been eight five-star recruits from North Carolina on 247Sports’ Top247 list. None of them have stayed in the state. Three went to Clemson, three others went to SEC schools. One other, Jordyn Adams of Green Hope High, went pros instead of playing at UNC.
In that same time only two No. 1 prospects stayed in-state: Sam Howell in 2019 and Jalen Dalton in 2015. Both of the four-star prospects went to UNC. This season, Howell has started every game for the Tar Heels as a freshman and was named the ACC Rookie of the Year. He’ll lead UNC against Temple in the Military Bowl on Dec. 27.
Shipley this season focused on winning another state title. Now that he’s done that, he plans to narrow down his list. He said his top schools should be “coming up pretty soon.” So what will that mean for the Triangle schools?
Shipley didn’t rule out any school but raved about N.C. State’s coaching staff.
“It’s a special school, special coaching staff,” Shipley said. “I have a special relationship with Coach (Des) Kitchings, Coach (Dave) Doeren, Coach (George) McDonald. It’s such a great program, it’s definitely somewhere I can see myself in. I just have to continue the recruiting process and see how it goes.”
Does Shipley want to go to NC State?
Kitchings was at the state title game on Saturday to watch Shipley play, along with Stanford head coach David Shaw.
Both of Shipley’s parents went to N.C. State, so he has seen many games at Carter-Finley Stadium. Tearing up the field there has been a dream of Shipley’s for years.
“You can’t really explain it,” Shipley said with a huge smile. “Coming here as a young kid, dreaming to play on a field like this, getting the opportunity, winning the state championship with my boys. Just can’t explain it in words.”
Shipley also spoke highly of UNC coach Mack Brown, who has brought in a top 20 recruiting class since returning to Chapel Hill this season.
“Mack Brown has come in and done a great job,” Shipley said. “I’ve got a great relationship with him and Coach (Robert) Gillespie, I haven’t really been able to dig into it because of the bulk of the season, but I can see myself getting back there and getting to create a better relationship with Coach Brown.”
Shipley took unofficial visits to N.C. State and UNC on consecutive weekends last fall. He also visited both campuses, as well as Duke, over the summer. The Tar Heels have only offered scholarships to two all-purpose backs in the class of 2021 and seven total running backs. Shipley is the only all-purpose back with an offer from N.C. State. The Wolfpack has made offers to five running backs in all.
