Johnny Shepherd (born April 24, 1957) was a star college football

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

and the Rookie of the Year in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

College career

Shepherd started his college career at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Lib ...

, where he was the team leading rusher in 1978 with 529 yards. He moved to Livingston University (now The University of West Alabama), where he was named Honorable Mention All-American in 1982, All-

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the Mi ...

in 1981 and 1982 and is a member of UWA's Team of the Decade from the 1980s. He still sits atop the UWA career rushing chart with 2,057 yards on 387 carries and holds the career per-rush average (5.32). He also scored 26 rushing touchdowns in his career and scored 156 points. He owns the single-season record for rushing touchdowns with 13, rushing yards with 955, touchdowns scored with 15 and rushing attempts with 183. He also owns the single-game rushing record of 189 yards versus Tennessee-Martin in 1982. He was inducted into the UWA Hall of Fame in 1997.

Professional career

Undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

by the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, Shepherd headed to the

in 1983, where he played with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Rushing for 1069 yards in his first season, he was an all-star and winner of the

CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually awarded to the player judged to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Frank M. Gibson Trophy winner from the East Division, and the ...

. He played for two more seasons, but was hampered by injuries. Most notably, he scored a touchdown in 1985's 73rd Grey Cup, when Hamilton lost to the B.C. Lions. In 1987, he played 2 games for the Buffalo Bills, as a strike replacement player, rushing 12 times for 42 yards and catching one pass. He finished his career in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

, with the New York Knights in 1988, rushing 24 times for 85 yards, catching one pass, scoring 5 touchdowns, and making 29 tackles.

Personal life

Shepherd now lives in

Garner, North Carolina Garner is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States and a suburb of Raleigh. The population is 31,159 as of the 2020 Census. The city limits are entirely within Wake County, though portions of unincorporated Wake County, as well as the ...

with his wife and two daughters Kanita, Letisha, and Jaraea

References

*''Canadian Pro Football'' by Terry Jones (Paperjacks, Markham Ontario)
UWA All-Americans listArena Fans online

External links

Hamilton Tiger Cats All-Time RosterAFL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Johnny 1957 births Living people Liberty Flames football players West Alabama Tigers football players American players of Canadian football Canadian football running backs Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Buffalo Bills players People from La Grange, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners New York Knights (arena football) players People from Garner, North Carolina