How Alabama handled JaMarcus Shephard’s absence during Tuesday’s practice

Nov 30, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide Assistant Head Coach JaMarcus Shephard during warm ups before a game against the Auburn Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images

Alabama was without receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard during Tuesday’s practice, as the recently-named Oregon State head coach was out West for his introductory press conference with his new team. 

Shephard will be back with the Crimson Tide for the rest of the week, as No. 10 Alabama prepares to face No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday. From there, the assistant plans to balance a double-duty workload, as he continues to guide Alabama’s receiving corps through the postseason while also working to build his staff at Oregon State. 

“He’s wanting to be a part of it as much as he can,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said last week following the news of Shephard receiving the Oregon State head coaching job. “I expect that, once we get to probably Tuesday, him to be with us the rest of the week getting ready for this game.”

Without Shephard on Tuesday, Alabama receiver Germie Bernard said the unit was led by a group effort, including analysts Torrey Gill and Bret Bolin as well as offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and DeBoer. 

Gill, who has helped coach receivers this season, is set to follow Shephard to Oregon State. Bolin, a former Alabama walk-on, has also worked with the receivers this year. Both Grubb and DeBoer were receivers during their playing days in college. 

“[DeBoer is] probably the hardest on us if anything,” Bernard said following Tuesday’s practice. 

When asked how he feels about his position coach moving on to a new program, Bernard said there are no hard feelings.

“It’s an exciting moment,” Bernard said. “It’s a blessing to get to be a head coach, and I’m very excited for him. This is one of his goals, and we all have goals in life. For him to be able to reach this accomplishment is really an exciting moment for me. Just to see how much he has grown and how much he has helped me, I know he’s going to be able to help a lot of people.” 

Bernard is in his third season working under Shephard, playing under him at Washington in 2023 before following him to Alabama for the past two seasons. After leading the Tide with 50 receptions last year, Bernard has a team-leading 51 catches for 700 yards and four touchdowns through the air this season. 

While Sheppard was instrumental in molding Bernard’s success on the field, the receiver says the assistant has been even more influential in his own personal growth. 

“Just becoming a better man in my faith,” Bernard said. “He’s obviously a great football coach, but he really helped me off the field mature mentally. That’s been the biggest change for me.” 

That leadership is why Bernard is confident Shephard will be successful at Oregon State. 

“I just think the person he is, his belief system and how much he trusts in the Lord,” Bernard said. “He has a lot of experience in the game, and he’s going to bring the right people into the program to be beneficial to the guys.” 

Alabama (10-2, 7-1) will face Georgia (11-1, 7-1) at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised on ABC.