One of UNC football’s most affable leaders is earning recognition for his widespread work on and off the gridiron.
Junior wide receiver Jordan Shipp is one of 20 college football players named to the semifinal list for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, which was revealed on Wednesday. The honor marks just the second time in the award’s ten seasons that UNC football player earned semifinalist status, as former DE Kaimon Rucker was a finalist in 2024.
The award recognizes football players who displayed leadership “by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship,” according to the selection committee. Shipp does that on the field as a team captain, as he tries to build upon a productive 2025 season that saw him lead the Tar Heels in receptions (60) for 671 yards and six touchdowns. Halfway through the 2026 regular season, the Charlotte native has featured in all six of Carolina’s games while recording 33 catches for 441 yards — and scored his first touchdown on the season last Saturday against Duke.
Shipp earned the nickname “Mr. Carolina” in part thanks to his dedication to the Carolina program amid a time of player movement in college sports — but also because of his representation of it too. The junior has used spare time to volunteer with the food insecurity nonprofit TABLE, build houses with Habitat for Humanity, visited patients at the UNC Children’s Hospital, served meals to patients’ families at the nearby SECU Family House, read to elementary school students, and helped organize school supplies drives. Shipp earned a 2026 ACC Top Six for Service Award for that work and more, alongside being an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominee and an Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List addition.
Several of Shipp’s colleagues in the ACC also earned nods to the Collegiate Man of the Year Award’s semifinalist list. Alongside the Tar Heel, Matt Craycraft of Duke, Mark Fletcher Jr. of Miami, Mason Heintschel of Pittsburgh, Duce Robinson of Florida State, Isaiah Shirley of N.C. State and Davis Warren of Stanford will see if they advance to the three finalists for the award. Those players will be announced on December 15, with the award ceremony set to be held on March 11, 2027 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Shipp and UNC football (4-2) will next be in action on Saturday, as they return from a two-game road trip to host Syracuse. Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Featured photo via Nell Redmond/ACC Photo.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
