There isn’t just one part of Will Shipley’s game that C.J. Spiller appreciates the most.

It’s the whole package that Spiller respects about the rising junior running back, including the competitive fire he plays with.

“It’s really everything, honestly,” Spiller, Clemson’s running backs coach, said this week when asked what he appreciates most about Shipley.

“I mean, he’s the ultimate competitor. This kid plays with a competitive edge that you have to match it, because if you don’t match it, it’s going to be very hard for you.”

While Spiller didn’t go so far as to call Shipley the Tigers’ version of Michael Jordan, he did liken Shipley’s ultra-competitive nature to that which Jordan possessed and was chronicled throughout The Last Dance, ESPN’s 10-part documentary detailing the NBA legend’s final season with the Chicago Bulls.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve probably watched ‘The Last Dance’ with Michael Jordan and how he was in practice. I’m not saying Shipley’s Michael Jordan, so let’s not write that. I’m not saying Shipley’s Michael Jordan,” Spiller said. “But just that competitive, fierce, like how he goes at you – he’s just a different player when he steps on the field.”

On the field, Shipley has a burning desire to win at all costs and wants to help get the most out of his teammates while making sure he’s doing what he needs to do individually as well.

But when he steps off the field, Shipley is a much different person than the type of player he is on it.

“Off the field, he’s one of the nicest kids that you can be around. Very humble,” Spiller said. “But when you step on the field, that kid’s all about winning and he’s going to do whatever it takes to win, and he’s going to push everybody around him to be better. And to me, that’s a great sign of a great teammate, because he’s pushing everybody else around him to be their best and then he’s holding himself accountable. Because when you do that, you’ve got to make sure you’re on top of your game, and he does a great job with that.”

Spiller is grateful that he gets to coach the players in his running back room, including Shipley, who last season became the first player in ACC history to earn first-team all-conference honors at three different positions (running back, all-purpose and specialist).

“I’m just very appreciative that I get a opportunity to be his coach – really be all those guys’ coach, because they do bring a great joy and they make it very fun and very lively to be in that room,” Spiller said. “But he’s the one that gets it going, just from his competitive nature.”

A finalist for the Paul Hornung Award, given annually to the nation’s most versatile player, Shipley was the only player in the nation last season to record at least 1,150 rushing yards, at least 200 receiving yards and at least 300 kickoff return yards – joining Spiller (2009) as the only ACC players since 2000 to accomplish the feat.