A. Q. Shipley

A. Q. Shipley

Shipley with the Colts in 2014
No. 53  Arizona Cardinals
Position: Center
Personal information
Date of birth: May 22, 1986
Place of birth: Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 307 lb (139 kg)
Career information
High school: Moon (PA) Area
College: Penn State
NFL draft: 2009 / Round: 7 / Pick: 226
Career history
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-Big Ten (2007)
  • Rimington Trophy winner (2008)
  • All-American selection (2008)
  • Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year (2008)
Career NFL statistics as of 2014
Games played: 45
Games started: 19
Stats at NFL.com

Allan Quay "A. Q." Shipley (born May 22, 1986) is an American football center for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football for Penn State.

Shipley has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts.

Early years

Shipley attended Moon Area High School in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. As a team captain, he helped the football team reach the 2003 WPIAL Class AAA semifinals. He was a named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25, and the Harrisburg Patriot-News Platinum 33 lists and played in the 2004 Big 33 Football Classic. He also was a three-year starter in basketball,[1] helping to lead the team to win the 2003-2004 PIAA state championship.[2]

Regarded as four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Shipley was listed as the No. 12 defensive tackle prospect in the class of 2004.[3]

College career

During his career at Penn State, Shipley switched positions on the offensive and defensive lines, several times.[1] Shipley's redshirt freshmen season at Penn State began with him playing on the offensive line and ended with him playing defense. At the beginning of the 2006 season Shipley was switched back to the offensive line and he spent the season as the starting center and anchored the offensive line for Tony Hunt's record-setting senior season. Shipley is known for his engaging personality and has served as the team Santa Claus for the Nittany Lions annual Christmas party.[1] He is a team leader who has sought out leaderships positions.

“ I just love being a leader, love being the center, knowing that the play starts with me and being able to control the offensive line, when I played high school basketball, I loved having the ball in my hands for the last shot. I like to be able to try to raise other people's play.[4] ”

Shipley began the 2008 season on the Lombardi,[5] Outland,[6] and Rimington Trophy[7] watchlists. By October, he had earned mid-season All-American honors from Sports Illustrated, College Football News, CBS Sports, and Phil Steele.[8][9] At season's end, he was awarded the Rimington Trophy, awarded annually to the best center in college football.[10] He was also named an All-American,[11][12] a consensus first team All-Big Ten selection, and the conference's Offensive Lineman of the Year.[13] Shipley earned a Bachelor of Science in labor studies from Penn State in 2008.

He was a 2008 team captain[14] for the Nittany Lions. He was the recipient of the 2008 Dave Rimington Trophy.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Shipley was invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine where he bench pressed 33 reps of 225 lbs. (fifth among offensive linemen at the combine) and measured a 31-inch vertical jump (eighth among offensive linemen at the combine).[15] He ran 7.46 in the 3 cone drill and 4.40 in the 20 yard shuttle (second and fifth, respectively, among offensive linemen at the combine).[15] Shipley turned heads when he scored a 40 on the Wonderlic Test—double the average score for NFL draft prospects.[16]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Shipley was drafted 226th overall in the 7th round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He signed a three-year contract with the team on June 18, 2009.[17] He was waived on September 4, 2009. He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 6.

Philadelphia Eagles

Shipley was signed to a three-year contract by the Philadelphia Eagles on January 11, 2010.[18] He was waived on September 4, 2010, and re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 5, 2010. He spent the entire season on the practice squad, and was re-signed to a future contract on January 10, 2011. He was waived during final cuts on September 2.

Indianapolis Colts

Shipley was signed by the Indianapolis Colts on January 29, 2012. When Samson Satele got hurt in the fourth quarter of the December 9 game against the Tennessee Titans, Shipley filled in.

Baltimore Ravens

Shipley was traded by the Indianapolis Colts on May 9, 2013 to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2014 conditional seventh-round draft pick. Shipley was waived by the Ravens on August 30, 2014.

Return to the Colts

Shipley was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts on August 31, 2014. A week later, he started for the Colts in their regular season opener against the Denver Broncos.

Arizona Cardinals

Shipley signed a contract with the Arizona Cardinals on March 11, 2015.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "# 57 A.Q. Shipley". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  2. ↑ For Moon, PIAA basketball title a tough act to follow
  3. ↑ "Defensive Tackles 2004". Rivals.com. January 13, 2004.
  4. ↑ Sam Ross Jr. "Shipley hopes to be center of Lions' offense". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  5. ↑ "Evans & Shipley Named to Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. 2008-03-10. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  6. ↑ "2008 Outland Trophy Watch List Announced". NCAAFootball.com. 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  7. ↑ "Shipley Named to Rimington Trophy Watch List". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. 2008-05-07. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  8. ↑ "Trio of Nittany Lions honored on mid-season All-America teams". The Pennsylvania State University. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  9. ↑ "Phil Steele's 2008 Midseason All-American and All-Conference Teams". Phil Steele's Publications. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  10. ↑ Musselman, Ron (2008-12-10). "PSU Football: Shipley receives national award". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 13 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  11. ↑ Brennan, Mark (2008-12-12). "Maybin, Shipley Gain All-America Honors". Fight On State/Scout.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  12. ↑ "FWAA Names 2008 All-America Team". Football Writers Association of America. 2008-12-13. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  13. ↑ "2008 All-Big Ten Conference Football Team: As selected by Conference Coaches" (PDF). GoPSU.com. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  14. ↑ "Nittany Lions Announce Captains for 2008 Season". Pennsylvania State University. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "2009 NFL Scouting Combine: Top Performers". National Football League. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  16. ↑ Flounders, Bob (2009-04-25). "PSU hopefuls come with question marks". The Patriot-News.
  17. ↑ "Ex-PSU center signs with Super Bowl champions". Big Ten Network. 2009-06-18.
  18. ↑ McPherson, Chris (January 11, 2010). "WRs Norwood, Collins Inked To New Deals". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  19. ↑ Urban, Darren (March 11, 2015). "Cards add A.Q. Shipley, Cory Redding". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved March 11, 2015.

Further reading

External links