Duke RB Nate Sheppard Long Road Becoming Starter

Sheppard has taken control in the back field and has been the workhorse for this team that they needed. Sheppard is looking to be the best he can and wants to improve as much as he can. When he gets the ball, you see him running with a lot of confidence. That is something that this team did not have to start the season.

But for Sheppard, it was not easy for him to get here to Duke. He faced many challenges and had to do a lot of work on and off the field to get to Duke.

Nate Sheppard

“His determination, his grit, it would always be something that stood out to me,” Willie Sheppard, Nate’s father, said. “It’s so much about who he’s always been.”

"Sheppard’s race to success began 840 miles away from Duke, on the football fields of a New Orleans suburb. With a former Louisiana Tech defensive back for a father and a promising young wideout for an older brother, the littlest Sheppard seemed predestined to chase end zones," said Abby DiSalvo of The Chronicle.

He loved the Saints and Alvin Kamara. He craved competition. As soon as he could wear a helmet and pads, he was on the gridiron.

By the time Sheppard was five, his 10-year-old brother had to stop giving him head starts in backyard competitions. The future running back never slowed down. As a high school junior, he totaled 1,816 rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns. He also played basketball and raced hurdles, juggling track meets and spring football practices without sacrificing a single commitment. 

• “He was going to be out there every day at practice. You knew he was going to be busting his tail,” said Anthony Pequeno, Sheppard’s track coach at Mandeville High School. “Watching him compete was also fun because you just knew that it was going to be a show.”

In the first seven games of his senior high school season, Sheppard did nothing but entertain. He found the end zone 31 times, scoring touchdowns on offense, defense, kickoffs and punt returns. Mandeville’s matchup against Ponchatoula High School promised similar theatrics — until Sheppard snapped his fibula on the first offensive play. 

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