Russell Shepard (born September 17, 1990) 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 wi ...

wide receiver and

special teamer In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He played college football at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

and was signed as an

undrafted free agent 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

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. Shepard has also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and New York Giants.

High school career

Shepard attended

Cypress Ridge High School Cypress Ridge High School is a public secondary school located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, near Houston. It was established in 2002 as Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District High School #7. Cypress Ridge provides the deaf educ ...

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...

. He started his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

career as quarterback. Although Shepard was heavily recruited by

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and received interests from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and USC, he announced his decision to accept a scholarship from

on March 3, 2008. He committed to LSU since he believed he would get the best chance at playing quarterback there. 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 Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

-type player in their offense. He graduated high school 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. He played in the 2009

Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the U.S. state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game was first played on Januar ...

on January 4, 2009. As of March 2009, he was ranked as the #3 Athlete on ESPN150 for the high school class of 2009. 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 for legendary coach Gary Thiebaud. Shepard also led Cy-Ridge to a 17-5A district championship in 2007. Alongside

Matt Barkley Matthew Montgomery Barkley (born September 8, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth roun ...

, Shepard was considered the top

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

of the high school class of 2009 by both ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'' and ''

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

'' before converting to wide receiver upon arriving at LSU. He was compared to Florida wide receiver

Percy Harvin William Percival Harvin III (born May 28, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida, when the Gators won the BCS National Championship in 2006 and 2008, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings ...

by a Scouts, Inc. reporter.

Awards and honors

*Selected to the 2008 All-Greater Houston Team by the Touchdown Club of Houston. *Won the 2008 Offensive Player of the Year award given by the Touchdown Club of Houston. *First-team selection on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Super Team *2009 ''PARADE'' All-American

College career

Shepard played college football for

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. He saw time at

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 receiver early in his freshman year, particularly the former due to depth concerns at the positions, before permanently switching to receiver. He ended his LSU career with 52 receptions and 572 rushing yards.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Shepard was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2013 NFL Draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One day after being released by the

, Shepard was claimed off waivers by the

on September 1, 2013. After leading the team in special teams tackles in 2014, Shepard was named special teams captain for the 2015 season, a role he would reprise in the 2016 season.

Carolina Panthers

On March 10, 2017, Shepard signed a three-year contract with the

. On September 10, 2017, against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in Week 1, he had two receptions for 53 yards, which included a 40-yard touchdown reception from quarterback

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...

. He finished the season with 17 receptions for 202 yards and one touchdown. On May 14, 2018, Shepard was released by the Panthers.

New York Giants

On May 22, 2018, Shepard signed with the New York Giants on a one-year, $1.3 million deal worth up to $2 million in incentives. In week 13 against the Chicago Bears, Shepard had 2 catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown reception came from fellow wide receiver and fellow former LSU player

Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beckham played college football at LSU and was drafted by the ...

On April 10, 2019, Shepard re-signed with the Giants. He was placed on injured reserve on September 26, 2019, with a foot sprain. On September 17, 2020, Shepard announced his retirement from the NFL.

Personal life

Shepard's mother is a medical recruiter for a local hospital, and his father runs his own construction business.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers biographyLouisiana State Tigers biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Russell 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Houston Under Armour All-American football players American football wide receivers American football quarterbacks LSU Tigers football players Philadelphia Eagles players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Carolina Panthers players New York Giants players