A.Q. Shipley, a former All-American at Penn State who was the starting center on the school’s 2008 Big Ten championship squad, will be the team’s honorary captain for tonight’s White Out game against Minnesota, NSN has confirmed.
Pat McAfee gave Shipley a shout out on this week’s ESPN “College GameDay.” Both McAfee and Shipley are products of Western Pennsylvania.
Before Penn State, Shipley played High School football at Moon Area High School. McAfee played at Plum before moving on to kick at West Virginia University. The WPIAL boys both had successful careers in the NFL as well and were teammates with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012 and 2014.
After Penn State, Shipley went in the last round of the 2009 NFL Draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He never got to play a regular-season game for his hometown team, and didn’t make his NFL debut until 2012 with the Indianapolis Colts.
From 2012-2015, he hung around the league and was a spot starter for the Colts, Ravens and Arizona Cardinals.
In 2016, Shipley became a regular starter and was Arizona’s No. 1 center for all 16 regular-season games. He started all 16 in 2017 and 2019, missing the 2018 season with a torn ACL in between.
He ended his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. He missed most of the season due to injury, but he did get a Super Bowl ring to go with his two Big Ten championships.
Shipley played at Penn State from 2004-2008, winning Big Ten titles in 2005 and ‘08. He spent time on both the offensive and defensive lines before becoming a full-time offensive lineman in 2006.
