Shipp, two-time All-American, to be inducted into TTU Sports Hall of Fame
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Playing for three different head coaches in his career might sound like a detriment, but in Larry Shipp’s case, he thrived.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Playing for three different head coaches in his career might sound like a detriment, but in Larry Shipp's case, he thrived.
Shipp will be inducted as part of the 2018 Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame class on Friday, Nov. 2 at the Multipurpose Room of the University Center at 6:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are available through the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, by calling 931-372-3940 or by visiting TTUSports.com.
Under the direction of Mike Hennigan, Doug Malone and Watson Brown, Shipp continued to get better and better through the course of his career.
Shipp is one of only three Tech football players to receive the program's prestigious Robert Hill Johnson Award three times – Larry Schreiber and Tim Benford being the other two.
He was named an All-American by both the Associated Press and The Sports Network following his 2007 campaign. He caught 53 passes for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also rushing for two more.
He also returned three kicks for touchdowns that season as he accumulated 914 kick return yards on 32 returns, an average of 28.6 yards per attempt. His 97-yard kickoff return touchdown against Concordia College still stands as the fifth longest scoring play in Tech history.
Shipp ended the season with 1,887 all-purpose yards.
The 90 points Shipp scored in 2007 set the bar for most points scored by a single player in one season in Tech history. His mark was tied by Dontey Gay in 2011 and still stands as the record.
In 2006, Shipp led the Ohio Valley Conference in receiving yardage as he hauled in 51 passes for 799 yards and eight touchdowns. That season, he became the first Tech receiver since 1962 (Jim Shaeffer) to lead the Golden Eagles in scoring for a single season.
In 2005, he tallied 803 yards on 50 catches, pulling down eight touchdowns. As a sophomore, he ranked second in the conference in receiving, fourth in receptions, fifth in all-purpose yardage and seventh in kick return average.
In his career, Shipp ended with 3,075 yards receiving (second most in Tech history), 204 catches (2nd), 5,162 all-purpose yards (third) and 192 points (sixth). He has nine 100-plus receiving yard games, second only to Tim Benford's 10, as well as three 200-plus all-purpose yard games.
Shipp's game against Samford in 2007 is the third-best in program history in all-purpose yards and sixth best in receiving yardage. Despite the 59-52 loss to the Bulldogs, Shipp caught two touchdown passes and returned a kickoff 88 yards for a score. He finished the game with seven catches for 191 yards, as well as 110 yards on two kick returns.
Shipp was named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference first team three times from 2005 to 2007, and earned the team's Headliner Award those same three years.
In 2008, Shipp graduated from Tennessee Tech with a degree in business management.
Photo by TTU Sports Information
