Alabama football has a new wide receivers coach who is ready to bring explosive production back to the position.
JaMarcus Shephard came from Washington with Kalen DeBoer to be on his staff with the Crimson Tide.
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The 40-year-old was a wide receiver at DePaux, a Division III program in college football from 2001 to 2004. Shephard started his coaching career at the high school ranks before moving up to Western Kentucky. He began as a defensive assistant for the Hilltoppers before becoming an offensive quality control coach, wide receivers coach, and special teams coach. Shephard coached receivers from 2014 to 2015 at Western Kentucky, producing a 1,000+ yard receiver (Taiwan Taylor, 1,467 yards) in 2015 and eight receivers that caught 40+ passes. He mentored inside wide receivers at Washington State under Mike Leach in 2016.
Six players caught 30+ passes that year, including Gabe Marks who led the Cougars with 89 receptions (13 for touchdowns).
Shephard went to the Big Ten in 2017 to be the wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator for Purdue. He also became a co-offensive coordinator for the Boilermakers from 2018 to 2021. Sixteen players across four years under Shephard caught 30+ passes, including Rondale Moore who had 114 receptions as a freshman in 2018. In his two seasons at Washington (2022-23), Shephard was an assistant head coach, wide receivers coach, and passing game coordinator. The Huskies had two receivers produce 1,000+ yards in back-to-back years. Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan did it in 2022 while Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk recorded 1,000+ yards receiving in 2023. Shephard updated his social media to “Wide Receivers Coach” for the Crimson Tide.
He played a huge role in getting five-star receiver Ryan Williams to recommit to Alabama.
Shephard will have several receivers to coach up and develop. Alabama fans are excited to see what he does with this group.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
