Will Shipley scouting report: Exploring Clemson RB's strengths and weaknesses

The number two running back in the nation for 2021, Will Shipley immediately took over lead duties for the Clemson Tigers as a true freshman, collecting 855 yards and 11 touchdowns on 165 touches.

The following season, Shipley improved to 1424 yards and 15 TDs from scrimmage on 248 touches, making him the choice for first-team All-ACC at the running back and all-purpose spots. As a junior, he played two fewer games but still put up 1071 yards and seven TDs from scrimmage.

Details: 5-foot-11, 205 pounds; JR.

Breaking down Will Shipley's scouting report

Will Shipley #1 of the Clemson Tigers scores a touchdown against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Strengths

• Will Shipley features an impressive burst to get around the corner on toss plays regularly.
• Practical with how he slows his feet and keeps defenders in place for pullers to get to, before slicing inside of them.
• Does well to keep backside linebackers home as he keeps his shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage before bouncing to the front side on duo runs on similar concepts.
• His ability to contort his body combined with how hard he runs allows Will Shipley to navigate through those tightly-packed areas and move the offense with consistency.
• No-nonsense runner if he has a crease on vertical concepts (duo/inside zone), to just plow forward for positive plays.
• Showcases the ability and mobile hips to shift his path as he takes the handoff, if he sees a voided lane in the run game based on pre-snap alignment, particularly in short-yardage situations.
• Delivers a lot of runs that move the sticks, as 65 of his 378 carries over the last two years went for 10+ yards (17.2%).
• Highly efficient at converting in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
• Pairing his ability to get low on jukes and the power in his legs, allows him to cross up defenders one-on-one in space.
• Shipley slips off hits from the side and keeps on trucking routinely.
• Squirts out of traffic by spinning off contact.
• Effectively places his hand at the crown of the helmet of would-be tacklers and pulls his knees up in order to not get tripped up by guys in pursuit.
• Will unload his forearm and shove off would-be tacklers sitting back for him.
• Provides great leg drive in order to stay upright and consistently bleeds out runs to churn out extra yards.
• 60.8% and 58.0% of his rushing yards in 2022 and ’23 respectively came after contact (1,199 of 2,011).
• Was a great chain-mover and game closer for Clemson, who were able to grind away defenses.
• Showcases good burst out to the flats in order to out-leverage linebackers.
• Light on his feet to make those 90-degree cuts as a route-runner without having to pound his feet into the ground.
• Excels at widening linebackers as he releases out of the backfield and then presents a nice target breaking toward the middle.
• Catches the ball reliably when he has to fully extend his arms for it.
• His head quickly flips around to read his blockers in space on delayed and swing screens, turning those into solid gains with consistency.
• Presents the density and effort to become a plus-level pass-protector, with good alertness for where the defense is bringing pressure from.
• Rapidly slides across to pick up blitzers off the opposite edge.
• Dishes out some great cut-blocks if guys try to time up the snap and shoot through the A- or B-gap.

Weaknesses

• Not a twitchy mover, who will make guys on the second level look stupid by getting them leveraged the wrong way before navigating around blockers.
• Desperately lacks that break-away speed.
• A lot of his yardage came on runs hitting out to the perimeter, not having shown the ability to navigate through tight quarters as efficiently, particularly executing more vertically-oriented concepts.
• His missed-tackle-forced rate fell from 23.2 to only 16.2% these past two seasons respectively.
• Had four and three fumbles each these past two seasons.

Will Shipley's 2024 NFL Draft projection

Will Shipley #1 of the Clemson Tigers reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals

Following the Trevor Lawrence era at Clemson, where they were throwing the ball all over the lot, Will Shipley became the driving engine for the Tigers' offense these last couple of years.

He’s a tough, physical runner with enough juice to win the corner initially and then powers through contact for productive plays. He’s not going to string together moves in succession in the open field to gain the status of a “creator” and he doesn’t have the top gear to really threaten to take it the distance, but he finds openings with regularity and maximizes what he can get even if there’s not a lot.

Will Shipley's lack of big-play ability and the fumbling history will probably lead him to fall to day three, but if he can clean up the latter of those two things, he can be a productive player as part of a committee with three-down viability.

Will Shipley Grade: Fourth round.