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Clemson football's Will Shipley selected preseason All-ACC at three positions
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- Clemson football's Will Shipley selected preseason All-ACC at three positions
Junior running back Will Shipley led a contingent of seven Clemson selections on the preseason All-ACC football team on Wednesday.
Shipley was the leading vote-getter on the team, named on 169 of the ballots cast by a panel of 176 media members.
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Shipley, who last year became the first player to earn first-team honors at three positions, repeated that feat as he was chosen at running back, all-purpose back and specialist. He rushed for 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2022 while adding 38 receptions for 242 yards and posting a 24.9-yard average on kickoff returns.
Shipley was the lone Clemson offensive player named to the first team, but the Tigers placed four players on the all-ACC defense, led by graduate defensive tackle Tyler Davis . He was joined on the team by linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter and safety Andrew Mukuba .
Davis, who will enter the 2023 season with 122 career tackles, including 26 tackles for loss, could become the first defensive tackle in program history to be a four-time All-ACC selection. He had 27 tackles last season and ranked second on the team with 15 quarterback pressures.
Trotter Jr. led the Tigers with 92 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss in 2022. Carter logged more snaps (832) than anyone on the team and had 77 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss, and eight pass breakups while Mukuba had 50 tackles and broke up four passes.
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The Tigers' seven selections marked the ninth consecutive year that Clemson has led the league in first-team preseason representatives. Clemson has had 70 first-team selections during that span – 33 offensive players, 34 defensive players and three specialists, including two place-kickers.
Dec 30, 2022; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers running back Will Shipley (1) leaps over Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Doneiko Slaughter (0) during the first half of the 2022 Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
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North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye was voted preseason Player of the Year, receiving 88 votes after passing for 3,847 yards and 35 touchdowns last season. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis was second with 66 votes while Clemson's Shipley was third with 17 votes.
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Trotter Jr. and Davis received three votes and one vote, respectively, to place fourth and fifth in Player of the Year balloting.
On Tuesday Clemson was named as t he favorite to win the ACC title for the eighth time in nine years. Florida State was picked second, with North Carolina, NC State and Miami rounding out the Top 5. The Tigers will play each of those teams this fall.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football's Will Shipley selected All-ACC at three positions
