Clemson running back Domonique Thomas shared a video in July from the weight room, showing off his strength when he made 700 pounds look light. During that video, none other than running back Will Shipley was there, looking even more excited than Thomas during the rep.

For those who have followed Shipley throughout his career, this is the person he is and his excitement for his teammates radiates.  The emotion he had in that moment is something he can’t even explain the origin of.

“It’s just like a different mode. I get so pumped up. I just believe that’s what God put me on this Earth to do, is to play the game of football and just maximize everybody’s potential, including myself,” Shipley said.

Shipley’s energy is palpable some people take it the wrong way because he is so animated and he addressed that when talking about the video with Thomas after the first day of fall camp. It’s part of the person he is and he admits that it isn’t perfect.

While there are some cons, he knows it’s all out of love and he wouldn’t act the way he does if it wasn’t to bring the best out of himself and everyone around him.

“Sometimes, I ask myself is it worth it? Because I understand that it does hurt relationships and it does sometimes cause somebody to not know what your true intent is,” Shipley said. “It’s just a part of me that I’ve learned to love and I think whenever people look back at those instances where maybe they didn’t understand where I was coming from or what my intentions were, I think they understand that I was truly trying to get them to maximize there’s and that it’s all out of love.”

As a first-team All-ACC running back and a proven talent, he’s the leader in the running back room and he says that drive is heavily put into his unit. He says that he’s the hardest on that room because “I love you guys to death.” The ferocity of it is something that he says he needs to redirect when he can to “let the light shine” and be the best leader he can.