When LSU junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and senior defensive tackle Al Woods visited Baton Rouge as recruits to a 2005 LSU game against Tennessee in Tiger Stadium, Woods made Sheppard a promise.”On his official visit, I came to watch the game because I had already committed, and I told him, ‘If you come here, I won’t ever let anyone touch you,'” Woods said. “That’s a promise that I’m living up to four years later. If I can take two hats for him to make the tackle, then that’s fine with me.”Woods and the rest of the LSU defense haven’t let Sheppard down, especially in the last three games in which the junior linebacker has amassed a team-high 39 tackles. The 13 tackles in each of those games made Sheppard the first Tiger to amass three consecutive double-digit tackle games since Bradie James in 2002.Yet Sheppard refuses to take credit for any of what he has done, despite 15 of those tackles being solo.The Stone Mountain, Ga., native instead credits his defensive line for never letting Tulane’s offensive line block him Saturday night.”It’s amazing that I can just sit back and play football and run sideline-to-sideline and have guys cheer for me in the meeting when they told me I got 13 tackles,” Sheppard said. “[Junior defensive tackle] Drake Nevis looked at me and said, ‘Man, it’s like me having 13 tackles,’ and that’s a great thing.”That unselfish attitude of his fellow defensive players has allowed Sheppard to rack up a team-high 70 total tackles this season (32 solo and 38 assisted) and team-high 7.5 tackles for loss.Woods said Sheppard’s play has been helping the defense gain a swagger.”What can’t you say about Kelvin,” Woods said. “He’s a great player, and he always comes to work with bumps and bruises and doesn’t complain. He gets better at something every week, and it shows on the field because he’s a guy you can count on.”Sheppard also recorded his first solo sack of his career Saturday night in LSU’s 42-0 victory against Tulane while adding two additional tackles for loss.With 13 tackles against Tulane, Sheppard — once known by Tiger fans as “the other Ryan Perrilloux” because he shared the same jersey number (No. 11) as the former Tiger quarterback during his freshman season — has begun to make a name for himself in the Southeastern Conference, ranking No. 4 in tackles.”He’s always seen himself as a leader and somebody that is integral to this team,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “He’s taken it upon himself to improve his play … Not only is he a very good player, but he’s a leader of our football team.”The second-leading tackler on the team is Sheppard’s high school teammate senior linebacker Perry Riley with 55 tackles.Riley said Sheppard’s recent play reminds him of their days back in high school.”He’s doing everything you can ask of in a linebacker,” Riley said. “It’s just as it was back in high school, so it’s no shock to me that he’s having so much success.”Sheppard was instrumental in leading his team to a 12-2 record with 102 tackles, 10 sacks, an interception for a touchdown, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery as a high school senior. He had 106 tackles in his junior season in high school, a number which he may surpass this season in his junior year as a Tiger.In his first two non-redshirted seasons at LSU, Sheppard recorded 85 tackles, including 6.5 for losses, as a part-time starter and special teams player for the Tigers.But one thing the fourth-year linebacker has not gotten since his senior season at Stephenson High School is an interception, a word that makes his eyes light up.”I’m looking forward to that first one,” Sheppard said. “I should have had two this year, but I let them slip away.”—–Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]