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WATCH: Will Shipley shows relentless effort to seal victory for Clemson

Sean Labarby:Sean Labar•10/30/21•

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Will Shipley will be Clemson's starting running back against Florida State. (Jacob Kupferman via Getty Images)

Will Shipley stepped up in a major way on Saturday, as The Clemson Tigers escaped a feisty Florida State squad to keep their longtime home winning streak alive.

As the clock ticked to the 3-minute mark on a night where the Clemson offense struggled mightily at times, the true-freshman running back took it upon himself to give the Clemson Tigers their best chance at avoiding the upset to Florida State.

The young yet clearly versatile running back has continued to emerge as one of the lone bright spots in for Dabo Swinney and a Clemson offense that came into Saturday’s matchup vs. the Seminoles averaging just 20 points per game.

Shipley entered Saturday’s ACC matchup with 54 carries for 263 yards, but put together his best performance when it mattered the most. He finished with 25 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The freshman added another four receptions for 24 yards.

Will Shipley will be a great running back

After Clemson’s Week 1 victory over South Carolina State, Shipley was already earning major praise from Dabo Swinney.

“He’s great. I mean he didn’t get a whole lot of opportunity last week,” Swinney said of Shipley. “I love having him back there at kick return. Sooner or later, he’s going to bust one. I love just his passion for the game, his toughness. He is relentless. Every time he gets it, he runs the ball like his life depends on it. That’s just how he plays the game. As the game continues to slow down for him and he gets more and more experience, he’s going to be a great running back. There’s no doubt about it.”

As a former five-star prospect according to 247Sports, Shipley came to Clemson as one of the top running back prospects in the nation and one of the top overall players out of North Carolina. Shipley played his high school football at Weddington High School in Weddington, North Carolina. In his three-year high school career, Shipley rushed for 4,173 yards on 503 carries, an impressive 8.3 yards per carry. He also had 1,411 receiving yards on 84 receptions and 80 total touchdowns in his high school career.

Shipley only saw four carries in week one with seven yards, and he caught one pass for 11 yards. In Clemson’s 49-3 victory over South Carolina State in week two, Shipley flashes his great potential. In the win, Shipley had eight carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns. He also averaged 23.5 yards on two kick returns, another area that Swinney sees Shipley excelling at.

Week by week, and just one calendar year from playing under the the lights on Friday as a high schooler, Shipley has continued to grow, flourish. His future seems incredibly bright.