Shipley: ‘Hell Yeah, I Want the Freaking Rock’

Despite rushing for 132 yards, Clemson RB carried the football just twice in the 4th quarter

Kevin Vandervort / All Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. — Will Shipley is frustrated.

Clemson’s running back felt like he could have done some damage had he just got his hands on the football a little more in the second half of the eighth-ranked Tigers’ 31-30 loss Saturday to rival South Carolina.

“As a competitor, hell yeah, I want the freaking rock with five minutes to go and the game on the line against our rival. That is me as a competitor, but that is not how it shakes out all the time,” Shipley said after the game from Memorial Stadium.

Shipley finished the afternoon with 132 yards on 15 carries, including an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Tigers a 30-21 lead at the time. The sophomore averaged 8.8 yards per carry, as the Gamecocks had very little answer for the Clemson running back.

“It makes it frustrating to me because I know it was successful and it was working,” Shipley said. “That is how I felt all night. I don’t believe they stopped me from running the ball all night. The O-line did such a great job hatting it up and giving me holes. Allowing me to take my vision and make the most out of plays. It is just a tough situation.”

It’s a situation offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter admits he should have done a better job. Shipley carried the football just twice in the fourth quarter. The Tigers finished he afternoon with 237 rushing yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry.

“We ran the ball well. We were trying to do a lot of mis-direction stuff,” Streeter said. “There were a lot of reads for the quarterback and DJ had a lot of reads there. We were running hard, and we were blocking them up pretty well in the first half.

“In the second half, they moved around a little bit more and we might not have been quite as successful on some of those things.”

Shipley reiterated several times he is not mad at his coaches or questioning the play calling. He just wishes he did more with the opportunities he did have.

“I am on the field and my job is take advantage of the opportunities that I am given,” he said. “I get my eyes over to the sideline as quick as I can. I get the signals and I run the play. I have full confidence in Coach Streeter, Coach (Dabo) Swinney and Coach (C.J.) Spiller, to get me the ball when I need it and when they feel like I need it.”

Maybe Shipley will get more opportunities when the Tigers face North Carolina next Saturday in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. 

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