“What I’ve Dreamed Of Doing”
Rookie Diary With Will Shipley
PHILADELPHIA — As a Weddington, N.C. native, Will Shipley’s emotions could have been running high for last Sunday afternoon’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Shipley, who grew up a diehard Panthers fan, didn’t deviate from his normal pregame routine, though he did catch up with Panthers legend Thomas Davis before the game. Another familiar face for Shipley was left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, with whom he and his brother grew up. The two jersey-swapped after the game.
It wasn’t really until after the break, the second-half kickoff, that things shifted into perspective for Shipley as he awaited the kick. He had realized his lifelong dream. He understood where he was and where his feet were.
Sure, he wasn’t playing for his hometown Panthers, but as he said, “playing against them is just as cool – especially when you’re on the Eagles.”
Shipley, who didn’t record an offensive snap in the Eagles’ 22-16 win, assisted on a tackle on punt coverage and logged 15 third phase snaps.
As part of an Inside The Birds “Rookie Diary” series, I’ll be checking in with Shipley throughout the season, learning more about the first-year running back and chronicling his rookie campaign.
On Friday, we chatted for our 12th installment.
Andrew: So, you had family in town last week ahead of the Panthers game, specifically your grandmother. What was her experience like at the Linc?
Will: “She loved it. She really enjoyed it. She’s been a lucky football fan, with me going to Clemson and that fanbase. But I think she added another accolade, being in LFF and that environment. It was great for her. She really enjoyed it.”
Andrew: Now was she decked out in Eagles gear, a Shipley jersey? Or was she wearing her Carolina stuff?
Will: “No, no. She was an Eagles fan, for sure. We made sure to go by the Pro Shop around where I stay and get her all geared up for the game. It was a little cold — cold for her, especially — so we made sure to have her geared up and ready to go.”
Andrew: Was she in town for the week?
Will: “Yeah, she came in on Tuesday and left Sunday after the game with my parents. So, it was a great week. Just someone really close to me that I haven’t gotten a chance to spend a lot of time with, really dating back to before I left for Clemson, whenever I’d come home and stuff like that. But especially in the past year and a half, dating back to starting my last year of college ball and then going straight into Combine prep and all that hectic stuff. Just not being back in Charlotte as much as I’d like to, in terms of seeing her and stuff. It was a great time spent together and something I’ll cherish, for sure.”
Andrew: I know you love her cooking, did she cook for you while she was in town?
Will: “Yeah, she did. She made her specialty turkey hoagies, and she made these chocolate peanut butter Rice Krispies. My fiancee and I had a field day with ’em that week. I told my financee she had to hide ’em until after the Panthers game so I wouldn’t be too far overweight. [Laughs]. But yeah, it was a great week. She cooked for us, we went out — it was the Capital Grille, we love that — a little Silver Diner by us. It wa sa great time, a lot of great food, great conversations. She loves just relaxing and watching some T.V., which is right on my to-do list as well pretty much every day.”
Andrew: You said that’s on your daily to-do list. What’s next in your queue?
Will: “I’m gonna have to look … it’s on Netflix. I just started it. I’ve kinda gotten more into the single series shows, with like eight episodes or so. Not the multi-five-series, they just take too long for me and they lose me.”
Andrew: Did you ever check out “American Nightmare” on Netflix on the flight over to L.A.?
Will: “Yes, I did! I started it, I didn’t finish it. So, I need to get back to it. That kinda shows you my attention span [Laughs]. So, I started “Fool My Once” on Netflix, it’s like a murder-mystery. So, that’s pretty good. I’m on episode three. And last night, my finacee and I actually watched “All Eyez on Me,” the Tupac documentary on Netflix, too, which I hadn’t seen before but heard it was amazing. Yeah, we tuned into that. I absolutely loved it, just hearing about the history of Tupac. So, I’ve always got something on the T.V. pretty much at all times.”
Andrew: Well, I think it’s on Paramount – if you like music documentaries – Milli Vanilli. Their story was crazy.
Will: “Really? Is it a band?”
Andrew: It was a duo. They were really famous right around 1990, then there was this big scandal because they were caught lip synching. They got a Grammy and everything and they had to give it back.
Will: “Shut up! They had to return it?! Aw, that’s awful. That’s an awful way to do it. Bu, hey, I’m glad they got caught. All these people out here trying to be great singers, it takes a lot to put into your job and do all that, so to hear someone fake it and get success — I never like to hear that.”
Andrew: Yeah. So, I thought that one was interesting. I see you have a Panthers jersey hanging there?
Will: “This is Ikem Ekwonu, their left tackle. I actually grew up with him, he was in my brother’s grade, two years above me. We went to the same elementary school, middle and high school together. Actually, he went to a Providence Day for high school; switched over to a private school instead of Waddington [High School]. But yeah, my brother and him played middle school ball together and just grew up really close with their family. Still really close, so really great to see ‘em, and just catch up, and obviously compete against ‘em.
“I gave ‘em mine as well. And just always write a little, kind note on there. And he did the same. But like I said, always great catching up with old friends.”
Andrew: How about for you, Will … I know we spoke last week, but how was that game against Carolina for you? I imagine it’s kind of hard to describe what it’s going to be like when you’re taking the field for warmups.
Will: “It was awesome. Pregame, just kinda going out there — I’ve watched more Carolina ball that I’ve probably played in my whole life. I grew up on ’em. Watched every game as a kid, and it’s just so much fun going out there. Got to meet up with Thomas Davis before the game, legend. His son, I’ve helped him out along the recruiting trail and being close with him — he goes to my old high school [Weddington] back in Charlotte. He just committed to Notre Dame, I don’t know if you’ve heard the name. So, got to meet up with him pregame, which was incredible. You know, just going on there on the field and competing against ’em. I don’t even think I could even explain it now, but it was a really, really cool feeling. It’s something I’ll remember forever, for sure.”
Andrew: I’m sure you approached it as just another regular season game, but were there any extra juices flowing for that one or were you just running through your normal routine?
Will: “I would say normal approach. I’d say I really felt it — I don’t know — it kinda hit me when I came out for the second half, and we returned a kick. We didn’t return it, they touched it back, but I was just kinda sitting back there and I saw them all lined up. And I really had some time there to kinda understand where I was at. Where my feet were. This is what I dreamed of doing, whether or not I’m on the Panthers — ’cause you know, obviously as a kid that’s who I wanted to play for, growing up watching ’em — playing against them is just as cool. Especially when you’re on the Eagles. [Laughs].
Andrew: While you didn’t get the touchdown I’d predicted last week, how would you assess your performance on specials?
Will: “I thought it was good, was able to grab one tackle there on punt coverage. Just gotta continue doing a great job. I mean, the last two weeks, we really have done a great job of just flipping the field. Pinned ’em deep, made ’em drive the whole field if they wanted to win the game. Just little stuff like that, you know, may go unnoticed — but not by us. So, yeah, just gotta continue doing that. They’re not giving us many opportunities to return kicks, which is something I’ve been yearning for. But just patience and knowing that that stuff is going to come and going out there and just doing what I can. I thought we really did well in all phases. Just gotta continue to step up and understand that when the opportunities are there, you got to take them because all the, we call it hidden yardage, and stuff that goes on in special teams that a lot of people don’t recognize, that stuff can really show up big in these games. And you gotta take pride in that.”
Andrew: It’s a really young unit. Do you guys feel you’re getting stronger as the season goes on?
Will: “Yeah, there’s no doubt about it. Just learning more. The more experience you have, the better you are at what you do. You know, we say it all the time in meetings, like, ‘Oh, that’s a vet move’ or ‘That’s something a vet would do.’ And it’s true; once you’ve done it, and you kind of understand the ways of how to be successful, it definitely helps you out. And I think we’re all definitely not there, but we’re getting there. And we’re learning and we’re so eager to learn. I mean, we go out there and it’s just excitement, I know it has been since the first game for Jalyx and I, kind of going out there competing and always seeing who can get tackles. The past two weeks he’s got me, for sure, just demolishing guys on kickoff coverage. And, you know, Trot’s doing such a good job. Like you said, it’s such a young group out there. And the fact that we’re going out there and doing a great job, helping the defense out on field position, flipping the field on punts. And just continue to get better in the return phase as well.”
Andrew: Losing Ben [VanSumeren] was a really big blow to the unit. Do you feel that you’ve taken on more of a leadership role as a result?
Will: “You know, I think from the beginning of the year in terms of punt, that’s something that I really took upon myself as the P.P. — personal protector, calling out the cadences — supposed to try to lead that group. So, I think I was put into a leadership role through that early in the season. But always trying to continue to grow, just like in any area. When you’re talking physically out on the field — what can I do better at running back? — it’s also how can I be a better leader? And with guys going down, different people being up and ready to go, and me and a couple other guys being stable and that we’ve been here and been present all 14-15 games. And you gotta step up into those roles, help out, even if you’re a young guy and show you can do it. I think it’s definitely gotten to be a bigger leadership role, and I love it. I want every part of it. And hopefully I’m doing a great job for the guys and just doing what I need to to continue to be successful as a group.”
Andrew: So, college football playoffs. What are your thoughts on the format and Clemson getting in?
Will: “I’m stoked. I stayed up maybe a little too late watching that game against SMU. Should have put ’em down after the first half but let ’em come back in the second. SMU is a great football team, from watching ’em. Especially their offense, they’re so explosive. But I’m just pumped the Tigers got in. I wasn’t able to my three years, sadly, but still got a lot of buds on the team. A lot of them. I pretty much know everybody. So, love it for Coach Sweeney, love it for the guys. And they got a chance to go win it all, and that’s all you can ask for. It doesn’t matter what happened in the regular season now, put it behind ya, and go hoist that National Championship trophy.
“In terms of the set up, I think, looking at it from the Tigers’ standpoint, I think they got a good road. If I was another team, like maybe an Oregon fan, I’d be pretty pissed off right now. I think they can always make adjustments; it didn’t what team was what seed, somebody was gonna get screwed. That’s just kinda been the reputation of it all. At the end of the day, you gotta go out there and find a way to win. And if you can hoist up that trophy at the end, that’s the name of the game. Common goal.”
Andrew: What’s one thing you’ve worked on this week that you’re hoping carries over to Sunday?
Will: “I would say kickoff coverage. Gotta continue to get better at that. You know, kinda been moving around. Like you said, we’ve had a lot of moving parts on special teams as a whole. But kickoff coverage, I’ve taken up a couple different positions, learning different things. And I think I can just pick up my speed a little better, get down there, threaten guys, whether it’s putting them into the returner, getting around ’em. Doing my job. Making sure that I know what my job is at each position and being able to succeed at it. Not just do well, but do great.”
– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.
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