Thats what makes it so debatable and all the more controversial. I can see Shepard didnt look ready for QB play. So I wont argue that point at all. I cant see why he didnt get more runs or catches though. Anyways, I cant wait till next year. I look forward to the season with a lot of anticipation.:geauxtige
And Shepard fumbled more than once this year. Not nearly as many times as you have rehashed this issue though. Somewhere in between the two I would guess.
Saw most of these guys at The Box in Tigerland Saturday night. They seemed to be having a good ol' time.
Even though there are lots of lunatics and nutjobs on the internet, some of us are very logically concerned about the misuse of the enormous talents of one Russell Shepard. Yes, I may have posted a few thousand words on this subject but when I first heard that RS had committed to LSU and I looked up his highlights and realized how good a college player he could be I was very excited and anxious to see what he would do in the purple and gold. Given the fact that even with his limited touches he was clearly the most electrifing player on last season's team, I am even more frustrated that I can't force Les Miles to sit down and explain to me exactly what his reasons were for not fully utilizing the most versatile tool in his toolbox. Yes, I know its only a game and whatever happens on Saturdays in Death Valley isn't going to affect my way of life or the amount of money I have (unless I bet one the wrong team) If I choose to spend some of my free time on an internet forum legitimately critisizing what not only I but many other knowledgeable fans consider to be poor coaching decisions and bad management ovf player personel I, like many others are only expressing our feelings and opinions in the only manner we have available to us (I have never called a sports radio talk show) SabanFan, Its hard for me to believe that you wouldn't like to know the real and truthful reasons behind this as much as I would. I have never met Russell Shepard. From what I have heard both about him and from his own mouth through interviews it would seem like he is a good kid who is pretty smart and from a good background with a good work ethic. I don't know if thats true for sure. Maybe in reality he is a bigger thug than Cecil Colins but I don't think so. I also don't believe that after enrolling in LSU last January and going through a spring traing and. then fall training camp that he was unable to learn even a few plays that he could run effectively OK, last season is now in the past but without some kind of truthful explantion I have no confidence that things will be any different in 2010
I can't help but think that if Shepard had received more touches at any of the skill positions he would have suffered some kind of season-ending injury. If you watched his limited touches, as long as he was able to find space, he was able to shield himself or get away. However, the times where he was stuffed at the line or somewhere around it, he was absolutely lit up. The kid did not look physically ready to play in the SEC yet. If you think about it, the kids who play a lot as true freshman were already physically ready coming out of high school, and at least some part there mentally ready. I do not think Shepard was physically ready to take more touches than he did, and I think that's why they seldom used Shepard. Think about the Capitol One Bowl. The field conditions were so horrible that skill guys like Shepard would have been slowed down because of poor footing. Is it worth risking Shepard to a serious injury so that he could play in a game that the field conditions would have made it hard for him anyway? I think the coaches were assessing the risk vs reward and figured the risk outfavored the reward in this instance. Anyways, enough about RS. This is the recruiting forum, and RS was already recruited.
