Will Shipley has supporter in high school rival, good friend Sam Howell
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Will Shipley and Sam Howell vividly remember what it was like to play against each other at the North Carolina high school level.
Shipley has spoken in the past about the difficulties of game planning against the former Sun Valley (Monroe, N.C.) star quarterback. Shipley, a defensive back and running back at Weddington (Matthews, N.C.), says it was perhaps the hardest week of preparation for him and his teammates. Even putting all their focus into stopping Howell, though, still didn’t do much to slow down the country’s No. 3-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2019 class.
On the flip side, Howell is standing on the Mira Coast High School field watching last week’s Elite 11 and The Opening Finals. Even two years into a 25-game college career that has thrust him into being a Heisman favorite, Howell has also not forgotten those days.
He harkens back to seeing the formative days of a kid who would end up becoming a five-star prospect and the nation’s No. 2-ranked running back out of the 2022 class.
“I remember playing with Will when he was a true freshman,” Howell tells ClemsonSports.com. “You know, I heard a little bit about him, and just watching him play as a true freshman he was special. He did it on both sides of the ball in high school. He beat me every year in high school so he’s a phenomenal player.”
Weddington and Sun Valley is one of the state’s biggest rivalries, and Howell’s team lost both matchups when Will Shipley reached the high school level.
The first came in 2017 when Howell went 7-for-14 for 154 yards passing, three touchdowns and three interceptions (plus 116 yards rushing and a touchdown) before leaving the game with an injury in the second half. Shipley and the Spartans took advantage with the freshman rushing for a 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. That proved to be the game-sealing play. In a 36-35 Weddington win, Howell’s Spartans scored a touchdown with no time remaining before a failed two-point conversion attempt sealed it for Shipley’s Warriors. The game went down as one of the rivalry’s all-time classics.
The following season brought another instant classic (if you’re a Weddington fan). Shipley and the Warriors trailed 21-7 before rattling off 24 unanswered points for a 31-21 win. That included back-to-back rushing touchdowns from Shipley of 61 yards and 15 yards to tie the game. The sophomore finished with 161 yards rushing and two touchdowns to counter Howell’s 245 passing yards and three total touchdowns.
Flash forward a couple years later and the two could soon be back at it again. This time around they would meet in the ACC Championship game. Shipley is projected to have a role as a true freshman for a Clemson program seeking its seventh consecutive conference title, while Howell is looking to take the Tar Heels to the next level and reach the conference championship game.
A relationship that started in high school continues to this day with Howell saying that the two are good friends and “talk all the time.”
So, of course, Howell is going to be rooting him on despite the opposing allegiances. Just not when Clemson and North Carolina square up, right?
“Honestly, I really don’t think about it like that, man,” Howell says. “He’s from the same area where I’m from. Not a lot of kids make it big where I’m from in the sports world. So I’m pulling for him. Obviously, if we play him I hope he doesn’t run for 300 yards. But I’m pulling for him. I’ll be cheering for him every week.
“I’m really excited for him, great kid, comes from a great family, works super hard, one of the hardest workers I know. I knew he was gonna go to school and have success. I’m excited for him. I’ve heard good things already coming out of Clemson. So it should be a good year for him.”
Will Shipley heads into his first season with the Tigers as the program’s third-highest ranked running back signee of all time behind C.J. Spiller and Demarkcus Bowman. Howell is North Carolina’s fourth-highest ranked quarterback signee in program history, and he appears to be on the path to living up to that billing.
So how does Shipley live up to the high expectations placed upon him?
“He just has to keep being himself,” Howell says. “Just never lose that chip on his shoulder that he has. Don’t try to do too much, just be who you are. People would just disrespect him just because when you look at the kid, you’d never think that he’s one of the best running backs in the country, but he’s really special. So just keep that chip on his shoulder and keep that work ethic and he’ll be all right.”