Oklahoma Sooners freshman wide receiver Sterling Shepard has chosen to wear the No. 3 jersey while playing for the Sooners, according to his high school coach on July 1. This is a big deal to the youngster because that was the same number his father wore.
Sterling’s dad was Oklahoma Sooners’ standout receiver Derrick Shepard. Derrick played in the ‘80s, when throwing the ball was rare, the team mostly relying on Barry Switzer’s wishbone and option offense. However, from 1984-85, Sheppard caught 42 passes for 673 yards and six touchdowns.
Derrick was a starter on the 1985 National Championship team that beat the Penn State Nittany Lions for Switzer’s final National Championship trophy. He went on to play in the NFL for six seasons, playing for the Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys.
His final season playing was 1991 and Sterling was born two years later. Tragedy struck when Derrick passed away from a sudden heart attack in 1999, when Sterling was only six. Despite never seeing his father play football, Sterling picked up the love of the game and became a star in his own right.
Sterling played for Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City and came out as the No. 1 wide receiver in the state and 20th overall, ranked as a four star recruit by Rivals.
At Heritage Hall, Shepard was twice a member of The Oklahoman’s All-State football team, and was Little All-City Offensive Player of the Year as a senior, catching 73 passes for 1,243 yards, with 29 total touchdowns. At Oklahoma, Shepard will get an immediate chance to start with the suspensions to all returning receivers outside of Kenny Stills.
To allow Sterling to wear the No. 3 jersey, Brennan Clay switched to the No. 24 on offense and defensive back Joe Powell switched to the No. 19.
For e-mail updates whenever a new article is posted, please subscribe at the top of the page and follow me on Twitter: @starvingdogs, GooglePlus, or join my group on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment