Shephard to play in the 2005 Hula Bowl; one of just two Division III participants
December 15, 2004
December 15, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw senior Jamarcus Shephard (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) has accepted an invitation to compete in the 2005 Hula Bowl Maui All-Star Football Classic. The wide receiver/kick returner joins the College of Wooster's Tony Sutton as the only Division III players in the contest.
The 59th version of one of college football's most prestigious all-star games takes place on Saturday, January 22. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. EST and 2 p.m. HST at War Memorial Stadium on the island of Maui in Hawaii. The game will be telecast live on ESPN2 and broadcast on the Westwood One/CBS Radio Network.
Shephard will compete for the East team and is the first player in school history to earn a spot in the contest. Additionally, he is the only player from an Indiana school to compete this year.
"This is a tremendous honor for Jamarcus and well deserved," DePauw head coach Bill Lynch said.
"He is an outstanding football player and a real credit to DePauw University. There's no question he'll be very competitive with the top football players in America who will be participating."
A two-time American Football Coaches Association Division III All-America selection, Shephard is coming off an appearance in last Saturday's Aztec Bowl in Cancun, Mexico. He helped Team USA (Division III All-Stars) to a 23-3 win with three kickoff returns for 95 yards including a 56 yarder that set up the team's first touchdown. He also caught one pass for six yards.
Shephard ranked among the Division III kickoff return leaders this season with a 24.4-yard average after finishing second in 2003. He was named the co-Special Teams Player of the Year in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference this year after holding the distinction in 2003.
He caught 47 passes this season for 815 yards and an average of 17.3 yards per reception for the 8-2 Tigers. He finished his collegiate career as DePauw's all-time leader in kickoff return yards and kickoff return average. His 28.0 career return average ranks sixth all-time in Division III history.
Shephard earned first team all-SCAC honors twice and second team once and was a D3football.com, Football Gazette and Sports Information Directors all-America choice in 2003.
The DePauw co-captain finished his career ranked fourth in SCAC history with 2,382 career receiving yards and fifth with 168 receptions. He ranked third in school history in receptions, fourth in receiving yards and second with 3,997 all-purpose yards.
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