If you watched Washington play this year it was impossible to come away not impressed with how dominant their receivers were on what so many coaches call "50/50 balls," and how physical they played
Come to find out, that's part of his grand design.
By design of course means in how he practices with his unit - that's a given - but the mentality also goes beyond that.
The 2023 FootballScoop Wide Receivers Coach of the Year finalist prefers a more aggressive term that the passive "receivers" title for the group he now oversees at Alabama.
“I considered receivers very passive in the way they play the position. There’s a lot of folks across the country, they look at receivers and they see them as playing soft. That right there doesn't go over well with me.
“A coach once told me, ‘Get your guys to play in your image,’ and I tried to be a tough player, even at receiver.”
He shared during an interview with Tide's 100.9 The Game that he calls prefers the term "takers."
“Being a taker is aggressive."
"It's an aggressive lifestyle. It’s how you go after the football, it's how you go after blocks, it's how you go after every single day on the football field.
“Being a taker is much more descriptive of how I want these guys to play.”
Shephard is going to see Husky wideout Rome Odunze taken in the first round, and two other guys from that runner-up finish likely to be taken in the NFL Draft.
He inherits a room in Tuscaloosa that lost it's top three receivers off last year's team (one to the NFL and two others transferred to Texas), but loaded with high-ranked recruits waiting to develop into the next best Alabama receiver.
Or if Shephard has his way...next best Alabama "taker."