Austin H. Shepherd (born May 28, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the seventh round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. He was also a member of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Early life

Shepherd attended

North Gwinnett High School North Gwinnett High School is a public high school in Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is part of the district Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school's principal is Nathan Ballantine. History North Gwinnett High School was established ...

Suwanee, Georgia Suwanee is a city in Gwinnett County and a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,355; this had grown to an estimated 20,907 as of 2019. In 2020, its population was 20 ...

, where he was teammates with Ja'Wuan James. In his sophomore season, North Gwinnett advanced to the GHSA Class 5A state championship game with 13–2 record, where they lost 34–6 to Valdosta Lowndes led by

Greg Reid Greg Reid (born September 8, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). He led college football in yards per punt return in 2009, and was named d ...

and Telvin Smith. As a junior, Shepherd helped North Gwinnett to a berth in state quarterfinals behind 10–3 finish, where they lost 20–3 to

Alec Ogletree Alec Ogletree (born September 25, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Georgia and was selected by the St. Louis R ...

's Newnan. In Shepherd's senior season, North Gwinnett finished with a 13–1 mark, earning Region 7-5A championship while advancing to the state quarterfinals, where they lost 35–0 to Camden County. He was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 18 guard and No. 22 by Scout.com, while

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ranked him 46th nationally as an offensive tackle. He was also ranked 13th on

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

Georgia Top 50. Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Shepherd chose Alabama over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, Clemson,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and UAB. He enrolled in January 2010 and participated in spring drills for the Crimson Tide.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings (first stint)

Shepherd was selected by the

with the 228th overall pick in the

. He was signed to a four-year, $2.34 million contract with a $69,694 signing bonus. He was released on August 29, 2016.

San Diego Chargers

On September 4, 2016, Shepherd was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

. On September 20, 2016, he was released from the practice squad.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On October 11, 2016, Shepherd was signed to the

' practice squad. He was released by the team on October 19, 2016.

Minnesota Vikings (second stint)

On October 25, 2016, Shepherd was signed to the Vikings' practice squad. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Vikings on January 2, 2017. On September 2, 2017, Shepherd was waived by the Vikings.

Coaching career

In 2020, after Shepherd's playing career he joined Florida Atlantic as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

. In 2021, he took the same role with

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

. In 2022, Shepherd moved to an off-the-field role as the director of recruiting and football logistics for

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. In 2024, Shepherd was hired by

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

as an offensive analyst. In 2025, Shepherd was promoted to Associate Offensive Line Coach. He is married to the former Elise Petitjean.https://goduke.com/staff-directory/austin-shepherd/1226

References

External links

*
Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Austin 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Buford, Georgia Players of American football from Gwinnett County, Georgia Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) North Gwinnett High School alumni American football offensive tackles Alabama Crimson Tide football players Minnesota Vikings players San Diego Chargers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Florida Atlantic Owls football coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football coaches Duke Blue Devils football coaches