Russell Shepard

Russell Shepard
No. 89 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position: Wide receiver / Special teamer
Personal information
Date of birth: September 17, 1990
Place of birth: Houston, Texas
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school: Houston (TX) Cypress Ridge
College: Louisiana State
Undrafted: 2013
Career history
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2014
Receptions: 4
Receiving Yards: 63
Touchdowns: 0
Stats at NFL.com

Russell Shepard (born September 17, 1990) is an American football wide receiver and special teamer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He attended Cypress Ridge High School in Harris County, Texas, United States.[1] He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles.

As a senior, the 6-1, 179-pound Shepard rushed for 1,946 yards and 28 touchdowns and threw for 1,843 yards and 20 touchdowns. Shepard also led Cy-Ridge to a 17-5A district championship in 2007. Alongside Matt Barkley, Shepard was considered the top quarterback of the high school class of 2009 by both Rivals.com[2] and Scout.com[3] before converting to wide receiver upon arriving at LSU.

He has been compared to Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin by a Scouts, Inc. reporter.[4]

High school career

Shepard started his high school career as quarterback.[5]

Although Shepard was heavily recruited by Texas and received interests from Florida, Michigan, and USC,[6] he announced his decision to accept a scholarship from Louisiana State University on March 3, 2008.[7] He committed to LSU since he believed he will get the best chance at playing quarterback there.[8] Texas told Shepard that if he didn't win the starting job at quarterback, then he could play other positions. USC likewise found him to be a Reggie Bush-type player in their offense.[9]

He graduated in December 2008 to start his college career a semester early. Shepard stated that he intended to learn the team's football system during LSU's spring practices that year.[9]

He played in the 2009 Under Armour All-America Game on January 4, 2009.[10] As of March 2009, he was ranked as the #3 Athlete on ESPN150 for the high school class of 2009.[11]

Awards and honors

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After one day being released from the Philadelphia Eagles, Sheppard was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 1, 2013.[16]

Personal

According to a December 1, 2008 report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Shepard's mother is a medical recruiter for a local hospital, and his father runs his own construction business.[14]

References

External links