By Derek Lee
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Oregon State has made their choice in who is going to attempt to lead their football program out of darkness. JaMarcus Shephard has been hired as the next head coach of Oregon State University. The 42 year old Indiana native has plenty of experience in winning cultures as he attempts to rebuild a plummeting program at Oregon State.
Shephard has spent the last 2 years at Alabama where he has served as the wide receivers coach as well as Co-Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach. Although most recently at Alabama, he is no stranger to the distinct challenges of coaching in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to his time at Alabama, Shephard spent time at the University of Washington where he was tasked with wide receivers as well as being the Passing Game Coordinator and Associate Head Coach. He also spent time at Washington State University as the wide receivers coach in 2016.
University of Washington’s success in 2023 came in large part due to Shephard’s position group. Michael Penix was sensational, however he is nowhere near the Heisman race without Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk. Odunze was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Trophy and Polk added on over 1,100 receiving yards in the 2023 season. In 2022, Shephard helped mold Jalen McMillan into a true number one receiver after he racked up nearly 1,100 receiving yards. Washington’s receiving room could have been even deeper in 2023 if not for an injury to McMillan. This is a true testament to Shephard’s coaching ability as he was able to build depth in Huskies’ receiving room and extract the most out of his players. Shephard continued his success while spending time at Alabama. He has been a major influence in turning Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams into true NFL prospects.
Not only can Shephard coach, but he is a widely respected recruiter. His ties to both the Pacific Northwest as well as the Southeast will be imperative if Oregon State wants to return to their winning ways of the early 2020s. The transfer portal will be of utmost importance for Shephard in a new college system that demands immediate success. Will he be able to bring anyone from Alabama along with him with promises of increased playing time?
It is early into his tenure at Oregon State, but many questions are already swirling among the fanbase. Who does he hire as assistants? Previous head coach Trent Bray leaned into personal relationships for his assistant coaches. This was ultimately his downfall as he was unable to fire his friends when their performances were lacking. Does Shephard take a more professional approach in hiring assistants? How will he react to the change in culture from Alabama to Oregon State? Oregon State is far behind Alabama in NIL, investment into athletics, fan support, football operations and media recognition. Does his hire spark a change within the athletic department?
Perhaps the biggest question of all, what percentage of Oregon State’s roster can he retain? What percentage does he truly want to retain? Oregon State’s roster lacks talent, flat out. Does he opt to let people transfer out with hopes of gathering better talent from the portal? Will he be able to scrape together the NIL budget in order to do this? Rumors out of Corvallis lead me to believe that donors are about fed up and are close to downsizing or flat out cancelling their donations. Will this hire fuel an increase in donations? Or are big time boosters flat out done?
Winning in Corvallis is hard, but it has been done before. Shephard certainly has his work cut out for him, but his tradition of winning is commendable. It is essential for him to make the correct hires among his assistants and to quickly get out on the recruiting trail if he wants to right the ship in Corvallis and take the Beavers back to their top 10 form from just a few short years ago. But make no mistake, Oregon State got their guy. This is who they have had circled since early on in their search with only Brent Vigen from Montana State getting serious consideration from the hiring committee. Beaver fans should be very excited for what is to come in the fall of 2026 and beyond.