Austin Shepherd (born May 28, 1992) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. He played college football at

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the seventh round, 228th overall of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. He has also played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

Early years

Shepherd attended

North Gwinnett High School North Gwinnett High School is a public high school outside the city limits of Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is part of the district Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school's principal is Nathan Ballantine. History North Gwinnett High ...

Suwanee, Georgia Suwanee is a city in Gwinnett County and a northeastern suburb of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,355; this had grown to an estimated 20,907 as of 2019. Portions of Forsyth and Fulton counties ...

, where he was teammates with

Ja'Wuan James Ja'Wuan Amir James (born June 3, 1992) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee. He has also played for th ...

. In his sophomore season, North Gwinnett advanced to the GHSA Class 5A state championship game with 13–2 record, where they lost 34–6 to Valdosta Lowndes led by

Greg Reid Greg Reid (born September 8, 1990) is a professional gridiron football cornerback for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He led college football in yards per punt return in 2009, and was named defensive MVP of the 2010 ...

and

Telvin Smith Telvin Trishaun Smith Sr. (born April 11, 1991) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Smith played his entire p ...

. As a junior, Shepherd helped North Gwinnett to a berth in state quarterfinals behind 10–3 finish, where they lost 20–3 to

Alec Ogletree Alec Ogletree (born September 25, 1991) is an American football inside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Georgia and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He ha ...

Newnan Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010. History Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta Coun ...

. In Shepherd's senior season, North Gwinnett finished with a 13–1 mark, earning Region 7-5A championship while advancing to the state quarterfinals, where they lost 35–0 to Camden County. He was ranked by

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as the No. 18 guard and No. 22 by

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, while

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ranked him 46th nationally as an offensive tackle. He was also ranked 13th on

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

Georgia Top 50. Regarded as a three-star recruit by

, Shepherd chose Alabama over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, Clemson,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and UAB. He enrolled in January 2010 and participated in spring drills for the Crimson Tide.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Shepherd was selected by the

with the 228th overall pick in the

. He was signed to a four-year, $2.34 million contract with a $69,694 signing bonus. He was released on August 29, 2016.

San Diego Chargers

On September 4, 2016, Shepherd was signed to the Chargers' practice squad. On September 20, 2016, he was released from the practice squad.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On October 11, 2016, Shepherd was signed to the Steelers' practice squad. He was released by the team on October 19, 2016.

Second stint with Vikings

On October 25, 2016, Shepherd was signed to the Vikings' practice squad. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Vikings on January 2, 2017. On September 2, 2017, Shepherd was waived by the Vikings.

References

External links

*
Minnesota Vikings bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Austin 1992 births Living people People from Buford, Georgia Players of American football from Gwinnett County, Georgia North Gwinnett High School alumni American football offensive tackles Alabama Crimson Tide football players Minnesota Vikings players San Diego Chargers players Pittsburgh Steelers players