Marcel Shipp facts for kids

Marcel Cornelius Shipp (born August 8, 1978) is a former American football player. He was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 2001 to 2008. He played for the Arizona Cardinals and the Houston Texans. Before playing professionally, Marcel played college football for the UMass Minutemen. He later became a coach, even coaching running backs for the New York Jets.

Early Life and High School Football

Marcel Shipp grew up in Wayne, New Jersey. He played high school football at the Passaic County Technical Institute. In his final year of high school, he ran for an amazing 1,510 yards. He also scored 24 touchdowns. This earned him a special honor called First-team All-State.

College Football Career

Marcel went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, he played for the UMass Minutemen football team. He was a "letterman," which means he earned a special award for playing well in college sports.

As a sophomore, Marcel was chosen as a first-team All-American. This is a big honor for college players. He ran for a school-record 2,542 yards and scored 18 touchdowns that year. He finished the season by running for 244 yards and three touchdowns. This helped his team win the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game.

In his junior year, Marcel was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. This award goes to the best offensive player in his division. He set another school record with 24 rushing touchdowns. He also gained 1,846 rushing yards. Marcel finished his college career with 5,383 rushing yards. This was one of the highest totals in Division I-AA football history.

Professional Football Career

Playing for the Arizona Cardinals

Marcel Shipp signed with the Arizona Cardinals on April 23, 2001. He was an undrafted free agent, meaning no team picked him in the NFL Draft. Even so, he made the team! In his first year (2001), he didn't run the ball much. But he did return 6 kickoffs.

In 2002, Marcel got many more chances to play. He had a great game in Week 4 against the New York Giants. He ran for 92 yards and scored two touchdowns. In Week 11, he ran for a season-high 135 yards and a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. He finished the year leading his team with 834 rushing yards. He also scored 9 touchdowns.

In 2003, the Cardinals signed famous player Emmitt Smith. Even with Smith on the team, Marcel still led the Cardinals in rushing. He gained 830 yards that season. He also had a career-high game against the San Francisco 49ers, running for 165 yards.

Bad luck hit Marcel in 2004. He broke his leg and hurt his ankle during training. This meant he had to miss the entire 2004 season. He was placed on "injured reserve."

After his injury, Marcel stayed with the Cardinals. In 2005, he was again the team's top rusher, with 451 yards. In 2006, he played less because the Cardinals signed Edgerrin James. But Marcel still scored 4 touchdowns that year. This included 3 touchdowns in one game against the St. Louis Rams. In 2007, he continued to play a smaller role, backing up James. In 2008, he signed a new contract with the Cardinals. However, he was released by the team on August 4.

Time with the Houston Texans

On August 18, 2008, Marcel Shipp joined the Houston Texans. But he was released by the team just a few days later, on August 29.

In his NFL career, Marcel had 605 rushes for 2,197 yards. He scored 11 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 113 passes for 937 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns.

Playing in the United Football League

Marcel Shipp then played for the Las Vegas Locomotives in the United Football League (UFL). He joined the team on August 25, 2009.

In 2009, he ran for 257 yards, which was fourth best in the league. His team, the Locomotives, won the first-ever UFL championship game! They beat the Florida Tuskers 20–17 in overtime.

Marcel returned for the 2010 season. The Locomotives won their second championship in a row, again beating the Tuskers. Marcel finished that season with 313 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

In 2011, Marcel played a third season with the Locomotives. Even though the UFL had money problems, his team did well, going 3–1. Marcel was their top rusher with 164 yards and two touchdowns. However, they lost in the championship game to the Virginia Destroyers.

Coaching Career

After his playing career, Marcel Shipp became a coach.

• In 2012, he coached running backs for the Las Vegas Locomotives.
• In 2013, he worked as a coaching intern for the Arizona Cardinals.
• In 2014, he went back to his old college team, UMass, to coach their running backs.
• In 2015, he joined the New York Jets as their running backs coach.

On January 3, 2017, it was announced that Marcel and several other coaches were no longer with the Jets.