Shepard just wants to a chance to compete
by Luke Paul Chandler
Nick Ironside gives us insight into why Russell Shepard of Cy Ridge is more than just a good quarterback.
By Nick Ironside
Some football players go into fall practices with one position on their mind. If they don’t make the cut at that position, they’ll transfer. Others are willing to keep an open mind. And Russell Shepard, a 6-foot-2 and a half, 195-pound quarterback prospect from Cypress Ridge High School in Houston is one of those other football players.
“Well what I’ve told every coach from (LSU’s Les) Miles to (Texas’ Mack) Brown is I’m not going to look at the school if I don’t have the chance to play the quarterback position, and that’s the first thing I look at,” Shepard said in a phone interview Monday night.
Shepard, who is listed as an athlete on most football recruiting Web sites, says he wants to play quarterback in college.
“I want to play quarterback because I like the position, because you can touch the ball 100% of the time on offense,” Shepard said. “Even if you’re an All-American back, and one of the best backs ever - I want the ball every time.”
Shepard also thinks playing quarterback will bring out the best in him.
“Also at the quarterback position I have the chance to make more plays, and I can really use my leadership skills and my knowledge of the game to have my team win,” he said. “I really like the position and I haven’t been playing it that long - I started my sophomore year, and a lot of people didn’t realize that. And I’ve progressed so fast. And I feel it’s a natural thing for me at this position.”
Having a shot at playing quarterback was just one of the three criteria Shepard described in his ideal school.
“The second thing I’m looking at is my major, which will be marketing and communications,” he said. “The third thing I’m looking for in a school is the school’s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. That kind of falls into the chance of getting to win a national championship at that school, and I want to win.”
Shepard then, raising his voice, repeated, “I want to win.”
“I’m a highly competitive person, and I want to play with the best. That’s a very important thing to me.”
One of the attributes Shepard mentioned is his leadership. The quarterback said he’s both a vocal leader and someone who leads by example. He also indicated he’ll do whatever is necessary to help his team.
“The perfect leader is a person who’s going to do whatever it takes for their team to win, which could be playing a position they’re not familiar with,” he said. “I can play receiver, I can play defensive end; whatever it takes for your team to do the job.”
The highly touted recruit also thinks his leadership skills can help him in college.
“I think those skills are definitely going to carry over into college,” he said. “The quarterback position is one where you’re a big part of your team. I feel the quarterback is the ambassador of the team. The quarterback’s also someone who the team’s going to look at, when times get tough and when things get hard - the quarterback’s going to bring them back and keep them moving.”
Currently, Shepard has received about 35 offers from schools across the country.
“LSU right now is my top school,” he said. “And then it goes Texas, Florida, Michigan and then USC. USC is a school that I want to go and see, and see what they have to offer.”
Shepard made it clear, too, that the only games he plans on playing will be on the field.
“A lot of people think I want to play the recruiting game, and just mess around with people, but this is something I take seriously in my life,” Shepard said. “This is my life, and it (the decision) affects the rest of my life. Every school I see, I know I could be at that school for the next four-to-five years. A lot of people think I’m going to play this game and go jumping around from school to school, but I’m honestly not that type of person. I’m straight up, I don’t play games whether you like it or not. So when I say LSU is my top school, I really mean LSU is my top school.”
Coaches at some of Shepard’s schools in his top five have really impressed him. Not just because of their school, but also because of the way they recruit him.
“I really like (Ken) Norton at USC,” Shepard said. “I really like his attitude, as well as he’s played in the NFL. And his father was a boxer. He boxed Ali and his background is good and he’s a great recruiter too. And (Urban) Meyer at Florida - if you want to be a good quarterback you go play under coach Meyer. He’s developed quarterbacks such as Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, as well as Alex Smith. Tebow won the Heisman, and Alex Smith was a first round draft pick, so if you want to be a good quarterback you go play under coach Meyer and Florida’s quarterbacks coach Dan Mullen.”
Shepard spoke about LSU and his home state school Texas.
“At LSU, coach (Les) Miles is an amazing man, because he has family values and he wants to win. And Larry Porter, the running backs coach - he’s my recruiter - and he’s going to tell you what’s on his mind and the truth.
“And then you have schools like Texas with coach (Oscar) Giles, the defensive end coach who’s my recruiter and he’s a real nice guy. Coach (Mack) Brown is great too. Coach Brown’s wife is a very good woman and she’s going to take care of the players.”
Shepard’s top five schools above chose Shepard as a high priority for a reason. Shepard is well aware of that reason as well.
“First of all, those schools know I can go out and throw, I can run, I can do all kinds of things on the field,” said Shepard. “I think the reason I’m such a high priority to these teams is because of the way I carry myself off the field. I already know what I want to major in, what I want to do when I get to school. And also my leisure skills and being so mature for my age, and knowing how the world works and how you have to look at things in the big picture.”
Intangibles can be very underrated at times, like Shepard said. But Shepard has more to offer then just his maturity. Intangibles can be underrated for the most part, but Shepard’s are eye opening.
“I work with a foundation with obese kids. It’s called the Oliver Foundation. I am very involved in the community - I’m a mentor for kids, even kids who are older than me,” \Shepard said. “I’m very mature for my age - a lot of people will tell you that, and as the day goes by I look at the overall picture. I realize I have to have other options because you never know what will happen.”
Shepard’s off the field works don’t lie, and neither does his work on the field. Last season, on a 12-2 team, Shepard threw for 850 yards, and had 1,526 yards rushing. When you put into consideration his 4.44 speed, you see where the 25 touchdowns came from.