Alabama WR coach JaMarcus Shephard talks 'takers' mentality, Germie Bernard

JaMarcus Shephard’s title at Alabama might need some tinkering. Last week the first-year assistant was announced as the Crimson Tide’s co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach. It’s the second part of that title that might need some new verbiage.

Shephard doesn’t coach receivers. He coaches takers.

During an interview with Tide 100.9’s "The Game with Ryan Fowler" on Tuesday, Shephard described his “takers” mentality, stating he has an issue with the name receiver and wants his players to take on a more aggressive mindset.

“There’s a lot of folks across the country, when they look at football, they think of receivers, they think of them as playing kind of soft,” Shephard said. “That right there, that doesn’t go over very well with me.”

Shephard’s physical approach was developed during his time as a receiver at Division III program DePauw University from 2001-04. Driven by a blue-collar mentality, the Fort Wayne, Indiana native finished his career third on the team’s all-time list for all-purpose yards. Now he’s looking to shape his players in a similar manner.

“I tell these guys all the time, ‘Your mom, she’s a receiver. You’re dad may even be a receiver. You’re grandma, you know even you’re teachers, they’re probably receivers. They receive Amazon packages in the mail. And it’s very, very much something that’s passive,’” Shephard explained. “Being a taker is aggressive. It’s an aggressive way. It’s an aggressive lifestyle. It’s how you go after the football. It’s how you go after blocks. It’s how you conduct yourself every single day on that football field.

“Being a taker is much more descriptive of how I want these guys to play.”

Shephard followed first-year Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington where he served as the Huskies wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator the past two seasons. Shephard produced a pair of 1,000-yard wideouts in both of his seasons in Seattle, playing a role in the development of NFL draft hopefuls Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja'Lynn Polk.

During his first season at Alabama, Shephard believes he's brought a taker with him from Washington in Germie Bernard. The transfer receiver joined the Crimson Tide this offseason after recording 34 receptions for 419 yards and two touchdowns while adding 43 yards and two more scores on the ground last season.

“Germie is a pure receiver,” Shephard said. “He’s somebody that understands receiver play to a high level. He knows how to get to his route location. He understands how to gain leverage on defenders and win in those particular moments based on the leverage that he wants to create.”

Along with his playmaking ability, Bernard also takes on Shephard’s hard-nosed approach. The 6-foot-1, 203-pound receiver made a name for himself as a blocker during his time with the Huskies — perhaps a bit too much at times.

“You’re going to see a tough kid,” Shephard said of Bernard. “If you watch the film of us at Washington, this kid — I mean, I’ve had plenty of referees come to me and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to watch 4. He’s hitting guys too hard.’ He flipped a couple guys upside down on their head blocking on the perimeter. He brings a mentality but also just his knowledge of just playing the position is going to be extremely helpful within the receiving corps.”

Alabama will hold its first of 15 spring practices next Monday. Crimson Tide fans will get their first look at Shephard and Bernard on April 13 when Alabama wraps up its camp with its annual A-Day game inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.