Good article on Shipley that briefly mentions stereotyping.
Texas' Shipley catches up to hype
Receiver on roll in fifth season
By Kelly Whiteside
USA TODAY
DALLAS  This wasn't how it was supposed to go for a Texas high school legend.
Jordan Shipley, the state's all-time leading prep receiver, finished his career at Burnet High with 264 catches and 5,424 yards, the second-best all-time mark nationally. When the heralded recruit arrived in 2004 and competed for a starting spot, quarterback Vince Young dubbed him "ESPN" because of the highlight-worthy plays he made during practice.
Shipley tore a ligament in his right knee that August and missed the 2004 season. The following year, hamstring problems resulting from his knee injury kept him on the sideline as the Longhorns won the 2005 national championship.
On fan message boards, Shipley became the greatest wide receiver never to play a down. The Loch Ness Monster. Bigfoot. ET. His mythical status was rumored, but did he exist?
"I probably would have quit," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "Very honestly, if he would have asked me, I would have said, 'This isn't for you, big boy, give it up.' "
No wonder Shipley was the last player to leave the field Saturday as Texas knocked off then-No. 1 Oklahoma 45-35 at the Cotton Bowl. "I'm still trying to soak it all in," Shipley said after he had his finest moment wearing No. 8.
Shipley caught a career-high 11 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. He changed the game's momentum with a 96-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. He also set up the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter with a 37-yard catch to the Oklahoma 1-yard line.
"It's been amazing," Brown said of Shipley's resiliency. "So proud of him to see his speed back like it was when we got him. I don't think he dropped a pass, and he's played that way now for a year and a half. He's having a lot of fun, so good for him."
Texas (6-0) moved to No. 1 in all of the major polls Sunday. Oklahoma (5-1) fell to No. 6 in the USA TODAY Coaches' Poll. The Longhorns continue their difficult stretch Saturday at home against No. 12 Missouri, followed by No. 10 Oklahoma State and then a Nov. 1 trip to No. 5 Texas Tech. A national title trip should be in reach if they survive that daunting run.
Shipley isn't taking anything for granted. The 6-0, 190-pound fifth-year senior plans to petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility but is playing as if this season were his last. He lingered on the Cotton Bowl field because he didn't want to let it go.
"This is the kind of thing you'd dream about when you were a kid, being able to be a part of a rivalry game like this and playing in front of 90,000 people," he said.
Shipley told his father, Bob, this summer that he was ready to have a breakout season. He wanted to prove to everyone that his first name wasn't "Oft-injured" since most times when he saw his name mentioned in the newspaper it read, "oft-injured Shipley."
"He always played as if he had a chip on his shoulder," said Bob Shipley, who coached Jordan at Burnet and currently coaches at Coppell High. "Whether it was people saying he wasn't big enough or he was the wrong color (Jordan is white) to play that position."
Shipley is indeed having the type of standout year he imagined, with nine touchdowns and 80 receiving yards a game. Plus he's doing it with his best friend, Colt McCoy, throwing him the ball.
Their fathers roomed together as teammates at Division II Abilene (Texas) Christian in the early 1980s, and the boys spent their Saturdays at Abilene Christian games during the years Bob was a coach there and Brad McCoy coached at an area high school. During home games, Colt and Jordan would go to a grassy berm near the side of the stadium and hold their own sandlot games.
"Those guys have always been two peas in a pod," Bob said.
They are roommates. When they're not together for football, they're hunting and fishing in the same spots Bob and Brad used to go to together when they were their sons' age.
At the Cotton Bowl, the Shipleys and McCoys sat near each other and high-fived after big plays. Their sons were involved in plenty.
The game plan against the Sooners was to attack the middle, which is exactly where McCoy found Shipley most times. Texas unveiled a one-back, four-wide receiver set, and McCoy's ability to improvise with the team's top two receivers, Shipley and senior Quan Cosby (122 yards on nine catches), was a key to the win.
"There were some plays that were made because of instincts, chemistry and leadership, and not everything is on script," Brown said.
No, not everything is on script. After two years on the sideline, including a missed national championship, Shipley is living up to the legend and his team has a shot at another title.
"It's been a process for me," Shipley said. "It makes it so much more special. I'm grateful now that it's over that I went through some of those things, because it made me a stronger person and prepared me for some of the things that were in store."