Jordan Shipley Scouting Report

After redshirting in 2004 and missing his freshman campaign with an injury, Jordan Shipley was a surprise contributor as a sophomore. On a team with Limas Sweed and Quan Cosby, Shipley still caught 16 passes for 229 yards and ranked second on the team with four touchdown receptions. As a junior he caught 27 passes for 417 yards and tied for a team high with five touchdowns, and all of that was in just nine games. As a senior it was expected that Shipley would take a back seat to Cosby yet again, but instead of taking a back seat he caught 89 passes for 1,060 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a sixth year senior in 2009, Shipley is finally the go-to-guy and is not disappointing half way through the regular season. Shipley has been off the NFL radar due to his size --he is only 6-0 and 190 pounds. Certainly he will not be anybody's number one receiver in the NFL, but (in this day of spread offenses) he could make a great slot receiver on the right team. Shipley also has the ability to return kicks and punts. He never got the opportunity until the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but the speedster has returned three punts and a kickoff for a touchdown during his career. A first day selection in the NFL draft might be stretching it for a player who will never be a team's top receiver and who could be considered an injury risk due to his lack of size. However, Shipley has great hands and a ton of speed; that will be enough for him to be drafted in the third or fourth round. 2/15 Update: Shipley's late season success has turned him into a hot commodity. During the BCS National Championship loss to Alabama, Shipley was practically the Longhorns' only receiving threat. He ended the game with ten catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns -- most of that was with Colt McCoy on the sidelines. Shipley is still not a number one type of receiver and that makes him a second round selection at best, but right now a lot of teams are willing to use a second round pick on him. 4/7 Update: Heading into the combine, many were wondering if Shipley would run in the 4.4s or the 4.5s -- the former could put him into the second round discussion. Instead, Shipley ran in the 4.6s and looked sluggish during some of the other drills. His pro day was a little better (where 30 teams were on hand to watch), but he still ran a 4.54 40 and that is probably not enough to push him into the third or fourth round.