Longhorn Legend Jordan Shipley Opens Up About Harrowing Accident & Miracle Recovery

In an instant, one of the greatest Texas Longhorns ever do it was almost lost a horrific accident.

This past January, Longhorns legend Jordan Shipley suffered terrible injuries as a result of an accident that occurred while on his ranch.

Shipley was attempting to put out a fire when everything went wrong, and he nearly lost his life.

Shipley Explains His Harrowing Journey

Texas Longhorns receiver Jordan Shipley at press conference after the 2010 BCS National Championship against the Alabama Crimson Tide | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"You want to talk about scared? There was about 30 seconds there, where I was just like, 'What do I do? This fire is almost to me. It's almost to the engine," Shipley said during an appearance on The Stampede podcast. "I'm shaking the door as hard as I can and trying to open it. Just praying and screaming."

"And then, the only thing I could think to do was to turn the machine back around… and see if I could crash it at the bottom. I started to do that, but with the tracks being off the rollers the way it was, it wouldn’t go the way I needed it to go. I slid back into the fire, about 10 or 12 feet… for some reason, I check the door again, and that time, I shook it and got it open.”

Fortunately, he escaped, albeit with gruesome injuries all over his body, and was able to make it back to his co-worker in time for him to get the medical help that he required.

But what is even more of a miracle is that Shipley is healing more quickly and effectively than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Shipley's Miraculous Recovery

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Jordan Shipley celebrates after a victory against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 2009 Big 12 championship game | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Originally, Shipley was expected to spend months in the hospital recovering from his injuries and undergoing intense grafting procedures. Instead, he spent just 11 days in the ICU before returning home and beginning his recovery.

But just a few months later, he is somehow in amazing health - albeit still with some more recovery ahead of him.

“I’m good,” Shipley said. “You can’t even really see some of the burns. Everything has kind of turned back to normal… My legs are going to take a while. They’re still pretty red and I think the blood flow is just not as good down there, in circulation. They told me my ankles would be the last thing that really kind of heal up. It’s been four months to the day.”

Shipley will always be remembered as one of the best to ever do it with the Texas Longhorns.

In his time on the 40 Acres, he had an incredible career. He left Austin as the program's all-time leader in receptions and sits second behind only Roy Williams in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Despite that success at Texas, the NFL and his personal life, however, his journey through this accident has shifted his perspective on life.

To many that would mean despair, uncertainty or apathy.

But for Shipley, it was the complete opposite, and it was his faith that helped guide him through the adversity.

"When you have to learn how to overcome things, and how to just wait when you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, every time I've been able to wait patiently and see (God) weave this thing together, it always ends up being for good," Shipley said. "A lot of times it's the things that aren't fun to go through at the time that end up bearing the most fruit.

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