Fresh off a 55-48 playoff loss in which he accumulated more than 500 total yards and six touchdowns, Russell Shepard’s high school career is officially finished. The Cy Ridge High School superstar is now eager to start his college career, which looms closer as the NCAA officially cleared him Tuesday for early entry into LSU.”I’m an LSU Tiger now,” Shepard said. “I’ll be enrolling in school January 9. I got the official word [Tuesday].  I am ready to go in, get my playbook, learn and get into the fight for the starting quarterback position.”Following a season in which LSU’s quarterback play was anything but steady, the Houston native is aware of his growing reputation before ever stepping foot on the grass in Tiger Stadium. He was recently featured on Snoop Dogg’s TV show “Father Hood” giving advice to Snoop’s son at a quarterback camp.”It all just adds to the hype,” Shepard said. “Coach Porter and coach Miles talked to me [Monday]. They realize that I’m coming into school as probably the most hyped player that’s come to this school since Ryan Perrilloux. They coach me up on it and teach me how to handle it, but it just adds to the hype, adds to the pressure that’s going to be put on me.”But Shepard refuses to fall victim to his own reputation, knowing hype alone does not equate to success on the football field.”I’m the first one to tell you that hype is hype,” Shepard said. “I have to go in and prove myself to teammates and to my coaches. I’m not going in with a big head. I’m going in as a freshman, somebody that has to work their way to the top. If I go in and do what I’m supposed to do, I can go down as one of the greatest players in LSU history. I’m all for the challenge.”Shepard said he will receive his final transcript from high school around Jan. 7 and will move to campus in about a month. But until then, he is still helping recruit for the Tigers in hopes of landing one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, speaking with top prospects like wide receiver Rueben Randle and Alabama running back commit Trent Richardson. Shepard said he will actually be Trent Richardson’s host when he comes on an official visit to campus after Christmas.”Rueben [Randle] is focused,” Shepard said. “Right now, I think he’s kind of down to three schools: LSU, ‘Bama, and Oklahoma.”Shepard said the worry fans feel about losing Randle probably stems from the loss of John Curtis’ Joe McKnight to USC in spring 2007.”I think Joe McKnight scared a lot of people because that was the first big recruit they lost out of [Louisiana] along with John David Booty to USC, but I think we’ve got Rueben [Randle] for the most part,” Shepard said. “Of course you never know until signing day. I think if he comes to LSU, he’s going to find a quarterback that he can run with throughout his whole three to four years and kind of develop a relationship with.”Shepard said the potential for coaching changes along with the Tigers’ late season collapse could have an effect on recruiting.”It’s definitely going to weigh in some people’s minds,” Shepard said. “It depends on the coaching staff to go out and recruit kids as well as me. But even losing like this can help: A lot of kids are going to have to play early next year.”—-Contact Tyler Harvey at [email protected]