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Running back Will Shipley, the No. 22 prospect in the 2021 ESPN 300 and the second-ranked player at his position, announced his commitment to Clemson on Tuesday. He chose the Tigers over Notre Dame, Stanford, North Carolina and NC State. Shipley, out of Weddington High School in Matthews, North Carolina, gives Clemson its ninth ESPN 300 commit of the class. "It was just their culture, the people that make up their program, how successful they are on and off the field," Shipley said of his decision. "I think those are really the things that played a big role. The relationships I've created with Coach [Dabo] Swinney, Coach [Tony] Elliott and Coach [Danny] Pearman; all those things are huge." Shipley ran for 2,066 yards and had 580 receiving yards and 42 total touchdowns for Weddington last season. Despite being one of the top prospects in the country, he still was not promised anything by the Clemson staff. "They say if you come in and work your butt off, you're going to have a chance. With me being ultracompetitive, my goal is to play freshman year," Shipley said. "Whether that happens or not, I couldn't tell you. Coach Elliott hasn't promised anything, but I'm going to do everything it takes to get playing time freshman year and then hopefully take over that starting role [during my] sophomore, junior year." Clemson landed ESPN 300 running back Demarkcus Bowman and four-star Kobe Pryor in the 2020 class, so Shipley will have competition for playing time when he gets to campus. But his talent level and ability will make it tough to keep him off the field. Shipley has watched the way current Clemson running back Travis Etienne is used and how he plays. He believes he can make a similar type of impact. "I can see myself doing a lot of what Travis does," Shipley said. "Coach Elliott has said I will be more involved in the passing game, which is what I want. I want to be split out one-on-one against a linebacker in the open field, and Coach Elliott has said that's going to happen." Clemson now has 10 total commitments and nine ranked in the ESPN 300. Of those, eight are ranked in the top 150; six are in the top 100. Shipley joins five-star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and wide receiver Beaux Collins as the three commitments ranked inside the top 50. Clemson continues to bring in elite-level prospects, and as far as Shipley is concerned, that won't stop in the near future. "Coach Swinney, when I went up there for my junior day in January, one thing that stood out to me was that Clemson is going to be the most successful football team in this next decade," Shipley said. "How he changed the program in this past decade, I'm not sure it's been done anywhere else as successful as he's done it. The culture he's put in, the type of kids that he recruits ... it's just different at Clemson, and that's what I love about it."
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