With confidence in the No. 4 Tigers waning faster than Trindon Holliday with a full head of steam, LSU might do well to listen to a senior member of its team as its showdown in The Swamp awaits.
The Tigers should open their ears to the man who knows the burdensome weight of expectation and how to deal with the adversity that invariably comes with it.
“It comes with the territory,” said senior wide receiver Russell Shepard. “If you want to be great, you have to go through the struggles. … It happens, man. It’s part of the game. You’ve got to learn from [the struggles] and benefit from them at the end of the day.”
Shepard seemed to know that by talking about LSU’s struggles this season, he encapsulated his entire career.
“I’m the key example,” Shepard said. “I came in on highs, and throughout my career, I’ve been up and down. At the end of the day, it’s taught me how to handle times like this. You’ve got to take them as they come.”
And Shepard’s handled them.
Remember when he arrived on campus in the Spring of 2009? He was the electrifying dual-threat quarterback who was going to revamp an LSU offense that labored in 2008.
He was the supposed savior, the next big thing. Even after his true freshman season when he wasn’t allowed to throw a pass, there were whispers heading into his sophomore season that he might get a chance under center.
But it didn’t turn out that way. Five games into his final season, Shepard has 1,237 career yards rushing and receiving to his credit and a big goose egg under the ‘passing attempts’ category.
So what?
What’s important now is that as a senior, Shepard is one of the few contributing members of the team who has been through the rough stretches.
“I’ve never been on a losing team here, but I’ve been on teams that went 9-4,” Shepard said. “It makes you a better person when you go through your bad times. It gives you the opportunity to really learn and kind of take more out of the good times.”
It doesn’t hurt that he might finally be finding a niche in LSU’s offense, one that’s not dependent on how fluid his routes are or how natural he is catching the football.
Last week, Shepard displayed the kind of athleticism the LSU faithful have been expecting since his arrival.
Lined up in the backfield with junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger at the LSU 22-yard line, Shepard hesitated, took an inside handoff and found a crease.
With a Towson defender in hot pursuit, Shepard punctuated his 78-yard score by sneaking the ball just inside the pylon with a dive from the four-yard line.
This is the Russell Shepard you’ve been waiting for. The same one you saw in his freshman and sophomore seasons when his listing on the depth chart shouldn’t have said wide receiver, running back or quarterback, but playmaker.
LSU coach Les Miles acknowledged he has been trying to find a way to use Shepard’s natural ability.
“I think he, obviously, from the explosive play that he had last Saturday, has some ability there that frankly, we’d love to tap into on a regular basis,” Miles said.
Shepard wouldn’t elaborate much on his role, other than to say he is happy when the ball is in his hands.
Though he’ll be remembered more for what he did or didn’t do on the football field, Shepard’s most crucial role might be in helping the team realize its potential this season.
He has personal experience.
“We’re kind of still riding off the hype from last year,” Shepard said. “These last few weeks have been a wake-up call to show us, the young guys and the older guys, that [we’ve] got to learn — learn the hype that [we’ve] have had and that we brought upon ourselves.”
