RECRUITING: Out of Control

LSU commitment Russell Shepard straps team on his back; wins duel versus JaMarkus McFarland

by Daniel Mingea III
Tiger Rag Recruiting Analyst

CLICK HERE to read Mingea’s recruiting blog at NOLA.com.

While most of the nation, including just about all of Texas was tuned in for the Texas Tech shellacking on Saturday night, there was a high school showdown being played behind the scenes in College Station,Texas. Russell Shepard led his Cy Ridge squad into Kyle Field to face monstrous Jamarkus McFarland and his highly-touted Lufkin team.

Cy Ridge entered the game as a considerable underdog, but at games end, everyone exited the stadium with the ‘wow’ effect as Shepard put on a show and was simply out-of-control. He single-handily led his team to a 42-32 victory while passing for 87 yards and rushing for an amazing 323 yards including 5 touchdowns!

In a post game interview, Lufkin’s Head Coach John Outlaw informed the Lufkin Daily News that no one has ever done what Shepard did to his team in over a decade. He was quoted as saying Shepard appeared to be ‘a man among boys’.

The modest Shepard on the other hand downplayed his role, giving much of the credit to his teammates.

“It was a fun game,” Shepard stated. “It wasn’t easy. Lufkin has an amazing team and they’re usually mentioned as one of Texas’s top three high school teams year-in and year-out. We just came out with a good scheme and it worked.

“Every play I scored on was a play that our entire offense executed,” Shepard added. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. Lufkin probably has the best defensive line in the state of Texas and our offensive line did an amazing job of blocking. Our receivers caught the ball, ran their routes well, and did a good job of blocking too. It was a team win.”

Being that Lufkin was one of the favorites to win the state title, did the victory feel like Cy Ridge just won the title?

“Nah, we’re not there yet,” Shepard replied with a laugh. “It was a thriller, but we have other goals. It was an amazing win, but we have bigger and better things on our minds like actually winning the state championship.”

Shepard may have gained 323 yards on the ground, but there were a few plays where he was snagged by the 6-foot-3, 285-pound giant.

“Jamarkus caught me a couple of times,” Shepard joked. “For him being 280 pounds, he sure can run! He wasn’t taking it easy on me either. He even hurt one of the guys on my team. I think he broke his collarbone. He’s been getting double and triple teamed all year long and he still can’t be stopped. I think he is going to be an amazing talent at the next level.

“I’m hoping he’ll change his mind and reconsider coming to LSU,” Shepard continued. “We talked a little after the game and we’ve been talking all day today (Sunday). He’s been giving me some advice on how to keep things going in order for us to advance in the playoffs.”

While Shepard was preparing for total domination in his game, his future team was being dominated in Baton Rouge. Shepard claimed he was unable to watch any of LSU’s game, but some people informed him on how the game panned out.

“I kind of seen it coming,” Shepard admitted. “Ole Miss beat Florida and that is like the hottest team right now. Coach [Les] Miles and coach [Larry] Porter told me Ole Miss always has one of the top defenses in the SEC. Their problem has always been they just didn’t have any offensive production.

“Now they do,” Shepard continued. “Jevan Snead is a solid quarterback. I watched him play here in Texas. He was better than Colt McCoy back then, but the reason McCoy got the job was because he knew the offense better. Ole Miss is going to be a team to watch out for in years to come.”

The one bright spot in the Tigers’ defeat may have been the play of quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Shepard received word Jefferson received quality playing time for the first time all year and his performance was not all that bad. With that said, the news had no effect on Shepard’s confidence in possibly becoming the Tigers’ starting quarterback next season.

“If Jordan would have won the game or maybe made it close then I might be worried a little,” Shepard stated. “Regardless though, I’m a competitor. I would come in competing for the starting spot no matter what and I’m sure Chris Garrett is probably thinking what I’m thinking. We all believe in our abilities.

“Jordan might be thinking this is his team next year because he got to play and Jarrett Lee might be thinking it is still his team and Jordan only got to play because he got hurt,” Shepard concluded. “We all have that mind set because we are all competitors. No matter what anyone says we all want to be the starting quarterback.”