Ja'Quan Sheppard (born April 2, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Early life and high school

Sheppard grew up in

Zephyrhills, Florida Zephyrhills is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was counted at 17,194 in the 2020 census. The city is the headquarters of the Zephyrhills (water), Zephyrhills bottled water company. The current mayor is Melonie Monso ...

, and attended Zephyrhills High School. In his high school career, Sheppard made 66 total tackles (42 solo and 24 assisted) and one tackle for loss. Sheppard also had six interceptions for eight yard, 21 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery, while playing in a total of 44 games. He was a three-star rated recruit and committed to play

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

over offers from Kentucky, Marshall, UMass, NC State, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Temple, Tennessee State, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, USF, Western Kentucky and Western Michigan.

College career

Cincinnati

During Sheppard's true freshman season in 2019, he played in nine games while mostly being on special teams. He finished the season with six total tackles (four solo and two assisted). During the 2020 season, he played in eight games as a special teamer and defensive back reserve. He finished the season with five total tackles (four solo and one assisted) and one tackle for loss. During the 2021 season, he appeared in nine games while on special teams and as a backup defensive back. He finished the season with three total tackles (two solo and one assisted). During the 2022 season, he played in 12 games, finishing the season with 50 total tackles (33 solo and 17 assisted), 4.5 tackles for loss for 16 yards, one sack for 13 yards and 10 pass breakups. On December 5, 2022, he announced that he would enter the transfer portal.

Maryland

On December 11, 2022, Sheppard announced that he would transfer to

. During the 2023 season, he played in and started all 13 games, finishing the season with 31 total tackles (28 solo and three assisted), three tackles for loss for 14 yards, one sack for seven yards and eight pass breakups.

Professional career

Las Vegas Raiders

After not being selected in the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

, Sheppard signed with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on April 27, 2024. He was also selected by the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the ...

in the eighth round of the

2024 UFL draft The 2024 UFL draft, also known as the 2024 UFL college draft, was the first meeting of United Football League (UFL) franchises to select newly eligible players ahead of the 2025 UFL season. It was the first rookie draft since the league formed ...

on July 17. He was waived on August 27.

Memphis Showboats

On December 6, 2024, Sheppard signed with the

of the United Football League (UFL). He was released on April 28, 2025.

Houston Roughnecks

Sheppard was claimed off waivers by the Houston Roughnecks on April 28, 2025.

References

External links

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Cincinnati Bearcats bioMaryland Terrapins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Ja'Quan 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Pasco County Florida People from Zephyrhills, Florida American football defensive backs Cincinnati Bearcats football players Maryland Terrapins football players Las Vegas Raiders players Memphis Showboats (2022) players Houston Roughnecks (2024) players