Spectators finally got the breakout performance they had been waiting for Saturday from LSU sophomore wide receiver Russell Shepard in the Tigers’ 30-24 victory against North Carolina.
Shepard became the first Tiger to score a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same game since Early Doucet in 2006.
But accomplishments like that are not enough for the second-year player. Shepard has higher goals in mind.
“The most important goal is to come out with a win, but my goal is to have 100 all-purpose yards every game, whether that’s rushing or receiving or returning,” Shepard said. “I want to be a 20-plus touchdown guy this year and a 1,000-yard all purpose guy. … I owe this team that.”
Junior running back Stevan Ridley said Shepard has found his niche with the Tigers.
“Last year everybody was like, ‘We didn’t see Russell,'” Ridley said. “You can’t ask any more of a guy who had a rushing and receiving touchdown. He’s made the transition from quarterback to wide receiver great, and he’s started off hot. That’s how everybody wants to start.”
Shepard scored LSU’s first points of the season on a 6-yard touchdown catch from junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson, a play Shepard said was set up by Jefferson’s “big-time throw.”
“I just had to stick my hands up,” Shepard said.
His second touchdown came on the ground, a 50-yard run untouched to the end zone.
Shepard gave credit to the rest of the offense for effective blocking on the play.
“I did the easy part,” he said. “They made it to where anybody could have run through that. I bet [offensive line coach Greg Studrawa] could have run through that.”
Now that Shepard is entrenched as a wide receiver, he said he is more comfortable than ever talking to the coaching staff about getting more touches.
“It’s something they want to hear — ‘Coach, I can do it,’ ‘Give me the ball’ or ‘This dude can’t cover me,'” Shepard said.
Shepard had five carries for 68 yards, an average of 13.4 yards per rush and two receptions for 12 yards Saturday.
Miles said he expects Shepard to continue cementing himself as an integral part of the team throughout the season.
“You’ll find going forward that his productivity will continue to rise, and he’s a guy we’d love to get more touches to,” Miles said. “Even though he’s had some success carrying it out of the backfield, we are requiring him to be a complete receiver, as well. … He’ll get touches again and again.”
LSU travels to Vanderbilt for its first Southeastern Conference game this weekend, and Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell said the Commodores’ defense will have to be prepared to tackle Shepard’s arsenal of skills.
“He’s the one who looks like he catches lightning bugs for practice,” Caldwell said. “He’s quick as a cat and can dodge and make you miss.”
Shepard tied his career high for touches in a game Saturday with seven total, and Ridley said Shepard will get the ball “more than he wants” this season.
Shepard took 40 snaps at running back, 28 at quarterback and 22 at wide receiver in his freshman season as LSU tried to find the best role for him. His first career touchdown was a 69-yard run against Auburn on Oct. 24, a big-play spark he plans to repeat often in 2010.
Away from the football field, Shepard said Miles entrusted him with a crucial task — being a passionate leader.
“The Drake Nevises, the Kelvin Sheppards, the Patrick Petersons, they’re not very vocal,” Shepard said. “I’m going to be that vocal person — let this team know how we’re doing and what we need to pick up … It’s something LSU traditionally doesn’t do with a young player, but he asked me to do it, and I’ll carry it out.”
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Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]