re: Russell Shepard...either never got the right chance or was just not what he seemed to be?

He should have been a gadget RB/slot WR in a modern system, but we had Les Miles and his dino offense

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Miles wasted a hell of lot of offensive talent.

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He was more of a terrible judgement of offensive talent. He wanted RGIII to come to LSU and only play WR. Dude won a damn Heisman. Chase would've gone to play DB at Kansas.

From what I've heard, Shepard threw a very ugly ball in summer practices and it was enough for coaches to say he will not play QB.

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So frustrating that they never let him throw 1 pass.

I feel like Miles did it out of spite to the general public and media basically begging to let him throw it…

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Especially since he let Spencer Ware throw a pass in a game.

You can bet Joe Brady would have known how to use him. CBK too.

Didn't have the arm to be a QB or the hands to be a go to receiver. If he would have been born sooner, he would have been really good in the option offense, but wouldn't have made it in the NFL. He would have been good with Matt Canada on the jet sweeps. While he was under used, he was never going to be a star, but should have had more touches on sweeps and screens.

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Les miles didn’t have a scheme. He ran toss plays up the middle 90% of the time.

Kid was great and I’m glad he came here. But he, and all the other QB recruits we got under miles, prob should’ve gone to a program that had a coach who actually had a full functioning brain.

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While Miles had major flaws this is just bull. Shep couldn't have gone to the Southland and played QB. He was just a really good athlete that has almost zero ability to throw the ball. He was solid for us in that 2011 run when he played WR and we'd throw him spot passes.

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He was just a really good athlete that has almost zero ability to throw the ball.

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Hard to know that when your coach is totally incapable of developing you for the next stage of your career.

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I feel like Miles did it out of spite to the general public and media basically begging to let him throw it…

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If you saw him throw, you would know why Miles never let him throw it.

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He was a depth WR and special teams player in the NFL.

He did exactly what he did at LSU in the pros so he actually proved the LSU coaching staff right.

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I completely disagree.

There are many players who are dynamic in college then go to the NFL where they are just average players. But often times they were dynamic in college because the coaching staff put them in position to be a dynamic player.

Miles's downfall was his flat out refusal to adapt on offense. He wasn't going to change his approach no matter how much evidence there was to EVERYONE ELSE in college football that his antiquated approach was the anchor on what should have been some great LSU teams.

Perhaps the best recent example of how "fit" matters is Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Anyone who watched Clyde in HS knew where he really excelled was in space and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Clyde could leave a defender 6 inches away grasping for air after a sudden cut.

In 2018 Clyde was the #2 RB in Ensminger's antiquated, predictable offensive approach. An approach that was just a slightly more "open" variation of Miles's approach. Clyde had some solid moments in 2018, but he was FAR from "dynamic".

Enter Joe Brady in 2019 who recognizes Clyde's skillset and sees he could play a role similar to Alvin Kamara in the Saints offense. That is you could line him up wide at receiver or motion him out wide from the backfield. As a RB they didn't just stick him behind a FB and TEs close to the line. The went single back from the shotgun and created space for him to operate in...which is where he was at his best. The result? He becomes a dynamic piece of the 2019 offense and goes from being an afterthought at the RB position to a 1st round pick.

Did Clyde suddenly become a much better individual player from 2018 to 2019? No. It's just that in 2019 the OC put him in a position where he would use his strengths to their fullest..

Shepard was a guy who was kind of positionless. He could make some plays as a QB...but he wasn't a true QB. He could make some plays as a RB...but he wasn't a true RB. He could make some plays as a WR...but he wasn't a true WR. But to fully unlock his abilities you had to get him in positions to succeed, not simply just try to jam a square peg in a round hole....which is what Miles ALWAYS did offensively. I always though Sheppard could have been used similar to what Ole Miss did with Dexter McCluster. They found ways to get him the ball and get him in space. Sometimes that was from lining up at RB. Sometimes QB. Sometimes WR. But the offense adapted to fit him. They didn't try to force him to adapt to fit the offense.

Great coaches find a way to get the most out of their players' strengths. Even if sometimes that takes a bit of unconventional thinking. Average to bad coaches try to force players to fit the coach's preferred approach. Even if it is a bad fit and doesn't utilize the strength of the player. That was Miles. He didn't care what your individual strengths/weaknesses were. Every RB was going to do the same thing. Every WR was going to do the same thing. Every QB. It didn't matter if it was clearly not working. That was Miles's approach and how the game was going to be played come hell or high water.