Watch Sheppard discuss McNeese St. and look ahead to Auburn
 
The last time Kelvin Sheppard smelled the end zone, he was suited up in Georgia for the blue and white of Stephenson High School in 2006.
 
The LSU senior linebacker was reminded of the feeling Saturday night against McNeese State in the third quarter — even if it didn’t add any points on the scoreboard.
 
Sheppard stripped the football from Cowboys junior running back Andre Anderson into his own hands, hit the ground and then headed 61 yards with his golden-tipped dreadlocks waving in the air en route to the north end zone.
 
“He was running the fastest I’ve ever seen him run,” said junior safety Brandon Taylor. “It was a funny sight to me, and I went to the end zone to congratulate him.”
 
The celebration was premature, as Sheppard’s score was called back after officials reviewed the play and ruled him down on LSU’s 39-yard line.
 
“It all happened so fast. The referee didn’t know I had the ball until I got up, and the ref was like, ‘C’mon,’ so I took off running, and they called it a touchdown,” Sheppard said. “They really didn’t know what happened. It all happened so fast.”
 
The 6-foot-3-inch, 240-pound linebacker didn’t notch his first college touchdown, but he did record a team-high 10 total tackles against the Cowboys.
 
Sheppard has led the Tigers in total tackles six out of seven games this season. He has also made his intimidating presence felt in opposing backfields with 2.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.
 
“Kelvin’s been here five years,” said junior cornerback Patrick Peterson. “He’s definitely the general of the defense.”
 
Sheppard has received national attention this season with 66 total tackles. He averages 9.4 per game, which ranks second in the Southeastern Conference and 33rd in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
 
“[Senior defensive end] Drake Nevis and Kelvin Sheppard are having the kind of years that would lead to national awards,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “Both guys are team players, and both guys are very much about the play of our team.”
 
LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis also thinks highly of the experienced Mike linebacker.
 
“As long as I’ve coached this game, I don’t know that I’ve coached a young man smarter than Kelvin Sheppard,” Chavis said at LSU Media Day. “He absolutely knows the game inside and out.”
 
But “The Chief” doesn’t let Sheppard’s success get to his head.
 
“Coach Chavis makes sure I stay humble,” Sheppard said. “He never lets me get ahead of myself. He always tells me I’m doing a great job, but as a player, if I want to improve and get better, he tells me things I can do every week.”
 
This week Sheppard faces the biggest challenge of the season — containing Auburn junior quarterback Cameron Newton.
 
The dual-threat quarterback sits atop the SEC with a conference-leading 122.9 rushing yards per game and a 180.5 passing efficiency.
 
“He’s a great player,” Sheppard said. “He’s going to take off running and beat you all day with his legs, and if you show you’re coming up, he’ll give you a little play action like he’s running and throw it.”
 
Sheppard and Newton won’t be strangers Saturday when they face off for SEC supremacy at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
 
“We grew up in Atlanta and went to high school in Atlanta,” Sheppard said.
 
Auburn, the SEC’s leader in total offense, has averaged 481.1 yards per game, but LSU’s stingy defense is No. 1 in the conference, only giving up 242.1 yards per game.
 
Sheppard and Peterson, the two vocal veteran leaders of the defense, have already begun planning to teach the younger players about the LSU-Auburn tradition.
 
Peterson said Sheppard sent him a text message Monday saying, “We got to talk to the troops and get their minds right for the game.”
 
“He definitely knows all the importance of this rivalry,” Peterson said of Sheppard.
 
 
 
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]