I believe most of you guys might have seen this video before, but I just can't help posting its link again. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuwsl34ianQ]YouTube - Russell Shepard - High school 2008 (Senior yr)[/ame] I know RS chose to run for the most part, but please be patient and keep your eyes on the video through 2:19 to 5:03. Some of his throws looked very polished and he obviously can make smart moves and quick decisions, which are what we haven't seen from JJ. RS might not be a NFL kind of QB that we can expect, but we do have recruited him as a 5 STAR QB, so why not utilize him in the most appropriate way before he finishes his college career?? Darron Thomas, the QB of Oregon, is the same kind of QB like RS. Look at how Oregon utilizes his talent and how unstoppable their offense is with him being the QB. At least IMO, I don't see any reason why we can't give him a try.
You dont understand the Miles/Crowton playbook. Its wayyyy complicated for RS.... he just couldnt do it. never question the HAT! :miles:
Its interesting to watch this video again now that we have seen him play at the college level. These highlight videos are always so misleading though and in Sheps case you can see why. On many of those runs he would have been tackled for losses or made very small gains on a college D. There are minimal examples of him breaking tackles. He doesnt have the lower body strength to do it and he doesnt have the build to add it. Many of us talked about using him like a Percy Harvin but Harvin was built like a truck with a totally different body. Sheps YAC and average yards per catch pretty much tells the story. Shep has some speed and shiftiness but it hasnt translated as effectively in college. He needs a little space and some time to pick his spots. He clearly isnt very effective the way we are using him. On the other hand, some of those throws contradict what we hear coming out of practice. He really delivered some frozen ropes in that video but we hear he doesnt have the arm. Go figure. Of course hearing JJ is better than JL in practice and comparing that to what we see on game day is also contradictory. There are likely other issues with Shep's throwing that may limit him in college compared to what he could do in high school. I know height is probably a factor and finding the passing lanes through a defensive line may be something he has trouble with. Knowing the playbook may be another. If we get eliminated from the West race I think it would be an interesting experiment.
Miles and the coaches are obviously retarded for letting the extreme talent slip into a position that doesn't best utilize his athletic abilities. Oh wait, we're the only team that recruited him as a QB, everyone else was recruiting him as an athlete. I wonder why. Just maybe Miles, the coaches, and RS himself know what their doing here.Now I will say we aren't getting the most out of his talent. A lot has to due with poor QB play, but we should use him in more of a Wild Cat offense. Problem with that is we don't have the OL to pull off those schemes very well, and it wouldn't matter anyway, because unless we giftwrapped, glued, and tapped the ball to our receivers hands they aren't going to catch the ball anyway.
... so can Jarret Lee and Jordan Jefferson. I'm convinced the problem is not the two QBs, it is Crowton. He doesn't call the appropriate plays for the situation. Adding RS to the mix won't help a thing.
Except for his senoir year, Shepard's passing stats were mediocre at best. He is not the answer to LSU's quarterback problems.
