Ja'Quan Sheppard (born April 2, 2000)[1] is an American professional football defensive back who is a free agent. He played college football at Maryland and Cincinnati.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | April 2, 2000[1] Zephyrhills, Florida, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 199 lb (90 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Zephyrhills (Zephyrhills, Florida) |
| College: | Cincinnati (2019–2022) Maryland (2023) |
| Position: | Defensive back |
| Undrafted: | 2024 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life and high school
editSheppard grew up in Zephyrhills, Florida, and attended Zephyrhills High School. In his high school career, Sheppard made 66 total tackles (42 solo and 24 assisted) and one tackle for loss. Sheppard also had six interceptions for eight yard, 21 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery, while playing in a total of 44 games.[2] He was a three-star rated recruit and committed to play college football at the University of Cincinnati over offers from Kentucky, Marshall, UMass, NC State, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Temple, Tennessee State, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, USF, Western Kentucky and Western Michigan.[3]
College career
editCincinnati
editDuring Sheppard's true freshman season in 2019, he played in nine games while mostly being on special teams. He finished the season with six total tackles (four solo and two assisted).[4] During the 2020 season, he played in eight games as a special teamer and defensive back reserve. He finished the season with five total tackles (four solo and one assisted) and one tackle for loss.[5] During the 2021 season, he appeared in nine games while on special teams and as a backup defensive back. He finished the season with three total tackles (two solo and one assisted).[6] During the 2022 season, he played in 12 games, finishing the season with 50 total tackles (33 solo and 17 assisted), 4.5 tackles for loss for 16 yards, one sack for 13 yards and 10 pass breakups.[7]
On December 5, 2022, he announced that he would enter the transfer portal.[8]
Maryland
editOn December 11, 2022, Sheppard announced that he would transfer to Maryland.[9]
During the 2023 season, he played in and started all 13 games, finishing the season with 31 total tackles (28 solo and three assisted), three tackles for loss for 14 yards, one sack for seven yards and eight pass breakups.[10]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+3⁄4 in (1.87 m) |
199 lb (90 kg) |
30+7⁄8 in (0.78 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.67 s | 1.57 s | 2.70 s | 4.40 s | 33 in (0.84 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) | |||
| All values from Pro Day[11] | ||||||||||||
After not being selected in the 2024 NFL draft, Sheppard signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2024.[12][13] He was also selected by the Memphis Showboats in the eighth round of the 2024 UFL draft on July 17.[14] He was waived on August 27.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b "Ja'Quan Sheppard". ourlads.com. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ "Jaquan Sheppard's High School Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "Ja'Quan Sheppard, Zephyrhills, Wide Receiver". 247Spors.com. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "Ja'Quan Sheppard 2019 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "Ja'Quan Sheppard 2020 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "Ja'Quan Sheppard 2021 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "Ja'Quan Sheppard 2022 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ Smith, J.T. (December 5, 2022). "Bearcats CB Ja'Quan Sheppard enters transfer portal". The Front Office News. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "Cincinnati transfer Ja'Quan Sheppard commits to Maryland". On3.com. December 11, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "Ja'Quan Sheppard 2023 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Ja'Quan Sheppard College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ "Raiders announce undrafted free agents". Raiders.com. April 27, 2024.
- ^ Williamson, Bill (8 April 2024). "Raiders draft 2024: Is Ja'Quan Sheppard a fit?". Silver And Black Pride. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "2024 UFL College Draft: Showboats select Kansas QB Jason Bean with No. 1 pick". FoxSports.com. July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ "Raiders make moves to bring roster to 53-player limit". Raiders.com. August 27, 2024.