JaMarcus Shephard Talks Wide Receivers

Alabama wide receiver coach JaMarcus Shephard spent his Wednesday morning Inside the Locker Room with coach Wimp Sanderson and Barry Sanderson.

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During his interview, Shephard was asked about Alabama's wide receivers, which is his specialty. Shephard had three of his wide receivers go in the top 100 of the NFL draft in April, and quickly joined Kalen DeBoer at Alabama after DeBoer took the job.

Shephard had a couple of things to say that may get Alabama fans even more excited for the start of the season and Alabama's passing attack.

Shephard mentioned a flurry of wide receivers on the Alabama roster. He highlighted Germie Bernard, Cole Adams, Emmanuel Henderson, and Kendrick Law. Notably, Alabama's highly-anticipated freshman Ryan Williams was missing from Shephard's analysis.

Shephard spoke incredibly highly of the entire Alabama wide receiver room, including Williams.

But my goodness, man, they run like Ferraris. These guys can run, run. My goodness. I thought I was at the Indianapolis 500 -- I'm originally an Indiana native -- I thought I was at the Indianapolis 500, the first time I saw all these guys out here running. Goodness, speed all over the place.
"It's just teaching them the nuances of playing the position, and getting in the right body position to catch the ball. Knowing when to accelerate, decelerate and reaccelerate at the right time. Knowing how to get back on top of defenders and being able to catch the ball over your shoulder. All the little details of playing the position. It's just partly because they haven't played a ton.

On Kendrick Law and Emmanuel Henderson:

"Kendrick Law, his growth from the time I got here until now -- I'm never the type of person to take all the credit for everything, but this young man's growth to me has been the one that has stuck out the most, along with Emmanuel Henderson," Shephard said. "He's a young man from the state of Alabama. From everything these guys were telling me -- Coach Saban would be like, 'Hey, why is this guy not getting an opportunity?' And this kid right here, he really seems to be taking this opportunity and running with it."

On Germie Barnard and Cole Adams:

"As we went through the spring, man, a bunch of guys have emerged and really gotten a lot better. It really starts with Germie, he's done a great job of leading this group, obviously because he knew the playbook. Coming in, it makes him a leader automatically. Kobe Prentice, just consistently made plays all spring. I'll tell you a guy that has really stepped up to the plate and really has shown a ton of flashes, some grit, some toughness, some ability to go out there in any situation and makes the plays and that's Cole Adams. I'm really excited about how he's been able to really flourish in the offense."

Wyatt Fulton is the Brand Manager and DME for Tide 100.9, serving as an on-air host from 11:00 a.m. to noon CT every weekday and Sports Reporter covering Alabama Football and Alabama Men's Basketball. For more coverage, follow him at @FultonW_ on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.