Brandon Sheperd is an outstanding WR prospect and you could say many of the same things about him as we did CJ Curry. He has a good size/speed ratio, attacks the game physically, competes hard, adjusts well to the flight of the ball, highpoints the football, and makes spectacular catches and big plays routinely. Like Curry, he shows ability to break tackles and turn shorter passes into big plays. He doesn't demonstrate quite the same lateral quickness or ability to make a guy miss in space, but really shows up big on catching the deep ball in man coverage with a combination of good straight line speed and fantastic hands.
You have to love a guy that is responsible for 31 TDs in one year, regardless of position. This past season he caught 47 balls for 818 yards and 21 TDs! That is an incredible ratio at that volume (Blake Jackson had 16 TDs on 62 catches; CJ Curry had 13 TDs on 45 catches). He is outstanding when it comes to tracking deep balls and making contested catches in traffic. He does a good job of hiding his hands until the last possible minute to not give away timing clues to DBs (this helps overcome some of his inconsistency in generating separation from them).
At this point he is a bit raw as a receiver. He wasn't used a lot in the intermediate parts of the field, so he will need to develop that part of his game as well as understanding how to settle in against zone coverages. Still, he is a bonafide playmaker with the ball in his hands. He has that unteachable desire to just know how to step up and make a play. Think of him as a slightly taller and less explosive Dez Bryant that will make plays with his hands and heart. He has fantastic hands and can make the spectacular one-handed snag look easy. He will definitely be the type of player that could strike for a couple of vertical plays per game and then show up consistently as a redzone threat.
Our coaching staff loves high effort players who love to play the game, so Sheperd fits the culture. He is a guy they identified early and jumped on during the summer before his stock skyrocketed. Bear in mind that he only had 20 catches for 450 yards and 6 TDs as a junior while playing WR and FS. His hard work during track and off season really paid off as a senior. His 2011 performance would measure up against the best WR performances in this part of the country. He dropped several impressive 100 times in track (11.0 flat) and 40 times on the camp circuit to really stimulate interest and cemented it with his outstanding season. Parkway Central had a move-in QB that did a much better job of throwing the ball down the field and that allowed them to open up the offense and showcase Sheperd a bit more.
In track, Sheperd has been a do-it-all kind of athlete the past couple of seasons competing in the 100 meter, 4x100 relay, 4x 200 relay, 4x400 relay, 110 M hurdles, 300 M hurdles, long jump, triple jump, etc. Last season he placed 3rd at the Missouri State Championships in 110 M hurdles (14.56) and 4th in the 300 M hurdles (37.70). He was getting recruiting attention as a D-1 track athlete. He holds 20 school track and field records and is already the school's all time track and field point scorer with his senior year yet to go!
In football he leaves a legacy at his school of being arguably the best skill athlete in its history, spending time at WR, S, CB, LB, and all kinds of special teams. There is no question that Sheperd has the type of frame, athleticism, and play making ability that coaches crave at the receiver position. When you look at the pairing of Sheperd and Curry, it's about as impressive a duo that OSU has signed in one class.
You have to love a guy that is responsible for 31 TDs in one year, regardless of position. This past season he caught 47 balls for 818 yards and 21 TDs! That is an incredible ratio at that volume (Blake Jackson had 16 TDs on 62 catches; CJ Curry had 13 TDs on 45 catches). He is outstanding when it comes to tracking deep balls and making contested catches in traffic. He does a good job of hiding his hands until the last possible minute to not give away timing clues to DBs (this helps overcome some of his inconsistency in generating separation from them).
At this point he is a bit raw as a receiver. He wasn't used a lot in the intermediate parts of the field, so he will need to develop that part of his game as well as understanding how to settle in against zone coverages. Still, he is a bonafide playmaker with the ball in his hands. He has that unteachable desire to just know how to step up and make a play. Think of him as a slightly taller and less explosive Dez Bryant that will make plays with his hands and heart. He has fantastic hands and can make the spectacular one-handed snag look easy. He will definitely be the type of player that could strike for a couple of vertical plays per game and then show up consistently as a redzone threat.
Our coaching staff loves high effort players who love to play the game, so Sheperd fits the culture. He is a guy they identified early and jumped on during the summer before his stock skyrocketed. Bear in mind that he only had 20 catches for 450 yards and 6 TDs as a junior while playing WR and FS. His hard work during track and off season really paid off as a senior. His 2011 performance would measure up against the best WR performances in this part of the country. He dropped several impressive 100 times in track (11.0 flat) and 40 times on the camp circuit to really stimulate interest and cemented it with his outstanding season. Parkway Central had a move-in QB that did a much better job of throwing the ball down the field and that allowed them to open up the offense and showcase Sheperd a bit more.
In track, Sheperd has been a do-it-all kind of athlete the past couple of seasons competing in the 100 meter, 4x100 relay, 4x 200 relay, 4x400 relay, 110 M hurdles, 300 M hurdles, long jump, triple jump, etc. Last season he placed 3rd at the Missouri State Championships in 110 M hurdles (14.56) and 4th in the 300 M hurdles (37.70). He was getting recruiting attention as a D-1 track athlete. He holds 20 school track and field records and is already the school's all time track and field point scorer with his senior year yet to go!
In football he leaves a legacy at his school of being arguably the best skill athlete in its history, spending time at WR, S, CB, LB, and all kinds of special teams. There is no question that Sheperd has the type of frame, athleticism, and play making ability that coaches crave at the receiver position. When you look at the pairing of Sheperd and Curry, it's about as impressive a duo that OSU has signed in one class.
