Russell Shepard to be a Tiger

spoke with Shepard several times and he indicated that Mack did not feel comfortable offering him as a quarterback because of the glut on our roster.  He told Inside Texas that all he wanted at Texas was the chance to compete for the quarterback job when he came in.  He said that he was willing to be an All-American DB or WR, but he wanted a fair chance.  Apparently, Mack didn't feel comfortable telling him he would have that chance, which is what I don't quite understand, but can't really blame Mack for saying.  With talk surfacing of Sherrod Harris or GJ Kinne changing positions this spring and speculation that one or both could transfer, Shepard was considering waiting until the end of spring practice to see if anything opened up (which he also told Inside Texas).  So no, this was not an urban legend, but came straight from the mouth of the only person who could talk about it, Shepard himself.

The writing was on the wall, though, after he visited the LSU Junior Day and spoke glowingly about the experience.  His girlfriend goes to LSU and, honestly, the situation there is wide open for him to come in as a true freshman and win the job.  Barring unforeseen circumstances here at UT, there was little chance of him getting on the field as a quarterback in his first several seasons.  

As disappointed as Texas fans understandably are about this situation, I think it's important to remember that we have three more years (probably) of John Chiles, and assuming a redshirt year for Garrett Gilbert, three years of him leading the 'Horns.  Realistically, we're talking about our quarterback situation being under control for the next six years.  Any program in the country would be happy about that.  With so much attention being paid to recruiting, it's easy to focus on the Next Big Thing and lose track of the Last Big Thing.  Remember how excited everyone was about John Chiles last fall?  Well, he's coming back with a year under his belt and new resolutions from the coaching staff to involve him more (who knows how much they will be worth).

It's unfortunate that our quarterback situation worked out like it did, but hey, it's better to have an embarassment of riches than a bare cupboard like we did after Vince left.  So, best of luck to Russell Shepard, from everything I have read about him he seems like a great kid and deserves a chance to play quarterback when he gets to college.

I agree, Shake. Some posters on rivals.com which have been reliable in the past report that Shep was recruited as an athlete, but was offered a chance of playing QB. Take it for what's it worth. But the kid wants to play QB. Even in the publicized interview he said that he wants a chance, a real chance. Why the need to emphasize the real thing?

Anyway, Shep can't throw yet and I'm very happy that Mack did not deceive him.  Get well soon Garret and brings us more championships.

The first thing that a lot of people thought about following the news of the impeding surgery for Gilbert were the comparisons to what happened to Drew Brees.  It turns out that the two injuries weren't comparable, which is positive, even though Brees seems to have made a completely or close to complete recovery.  Brees severely tore his labrum, while Gilbert suffered from a slightly torn glenoid labrum and played the entire football season with it.  The doctors expect him to make a full recovery, although there has been no word on how his follow-up visit went on February 26th.