Sterling Shepard Biography

Sterling Clay Shepard (born ) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma. Shepard was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Early years

Shepard was born on February 10, 1993. Shepard attended Heritage Hall School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he rushed for 1,115 yards and caught 133 passes for 2,335 yards and 38 touchdowns in his high school football career. As a senior, he carried the ball 28 times for 303 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 73 passes for 1,243 yards and 17 touchdowns. Following his senior season, he was selected to the Under Armour All-American Game. In addition, Shepard competed in basketball and track at Heritage. As a senior in 2011, he placed second in the long jump at the State Meet with a leap of 6.69 meters (21'11.5").

Shepard was a consensus four-star recruit by ESPN.com, Rivals.com, 247sports.com and Scout.com. He committed to the University of Oklahoma to play college football under head coach Bob Stoops.

College career

As a true freshman at the University of Oklahoma in 2012, Shepard played in all 13 games with four starts and had 45 receptions for 621 yards and three touchdowns. He made his collegiate debut on September 8, against Florida A&M, and had three receptions for 48 receiving yards. In the following game, he had seven receptions for 108 receiving yards and his first collegiate receiving touchdown against Kansas State. As a sophomore in 2013, he started 12 of 13 games, recording 51 receptions for 603 yards and seven touchdowns. On September 14, against Tulsa, he had the best game of his collegiate career to that point with eight receptions for 123 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. In the 2014 Sugar Bowl against Alabama, he had his first collegiate rushing touchdown on a 13-yard play. Shepard started 12 of 13 games as a junior in 2014. He started off the season very strong with career-highs in receiving yards at first against Tulsa with 177 and 215 later on against TCU. After recording 49 receptions for 911 yards and five touchdowns through the first seven games of the season, he suffered a groin injury on a reception against Iowa State, which caused him to miss the rest of that game and the next week's game against Baylor and limited him to one reception for 13 yards during the final four games. As a senior in 2015, he played in all 14 games and had 86 receptions for 1,288 yards and 11 touchdowns. On September 2, against Tennessee, he caught a five-yard touchdown from Baker Mayfield with only 40 seconds remaining to help force overtime. In the second overtime, he caught a game-winning 18-yard pass from Mayfield. For his career, he had 233 receptions for 3,482 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Professional career

</ref>}} Shepard was selected by the New York Giants in the second round with the 40th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the fifth wide receiver to be selected that year. On May 6, 2016, the Giants signed Shepard to a four-year, $5.94 million contract that includes $3.24 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.52 million.

2016: Rookie year

Going into the regular season, Shepard was named a starting wide receiver, along with Odell Beckham Jr. He started Giants' season opener against the Dallas Cowboys and made three receptions for 43-yards and caught his first career touchdown on a nine-yard pass from Eli Manning, helping the Giants win 20-19. The following week, Shepard caught a season-high eight passes for 117 receiving yards in a 16-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints. On September 25, 2016, he caught five passes for 73 yards and caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning during the Giants' first loss of the season to the Washington Redskins. On November 6, 2016, he continued to emerge as a promising receiver after he made three receptions for 50 yards and caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The following game, Shepard caught five passes for 42 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 21-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

On November 20, 2016, Shepard had his third game in a row with a touchdown after he finished a 22-16 victory over the Chicago Bears with five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. In a Week 16 match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles, Shepard made seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown as the Giants lost 24-19. He finished the season with 65 receptions for 683 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. The Giants made the playoffs with an 11-5 record. In his playoff debut, he had four receptions for 63 receiving yards in the 38-13 Wild Card Round loss to the Green Bay Packers. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team following the season.

2017

Shepard started the 2017 season off with nine receptions for 67 receiving yards combined in the first two games against the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. In the next game, against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had seven receptions for 133 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, which was a 77-yard reception. During the 2017 season, Shepard missed multiple games due to reported issues with migraines. During Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, Shepard had a career high eleven receptions for 142 receiving yards as the Giants lost 21-31. Later that season, in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Shepard tied his career high for receptions, and set a new high for targets, with sixteen. Shepard also caught a touchdown pass, which he did not during Week 10. Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 59 receptions for 731 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Personal life

His father, Derrick Shepard, played at Oklahoma and in the NFL from 1987-1991 as a wide receiver. He died when Sterling was six. His uncles, Darrell (1980-81) and Woodie (1975-79), also played at Oklahoma.

Shepard married model Chanel Iman on March 3, 2018. In May 2018, the couple confirmed they were expecting their first child. On August 10, 2018, their first child Cali Clay Shepard was born.