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Ole Miss Football: 5 players trending up after spring 2019

By Connor Muldowney

OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Matt Luke of the Mississippi Rebels takes the field before a game against the South Alabama Jaguars at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 02: Head coach Matt Luke of the Mississippi Rebels takes the field before a game against the South Alabama Jaguars at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Matt Luke of the Ole Miss Rebels coaches during the first half of a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Matt Luke of the Ole Miss Rebels coaches during the first half of a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

Finishing the 2018 season fifth on the team in total tackles and No. 1 in tackles for loss, Qaadir Shepperd didn’t really need to make a name for himself this spring as he had already done that as a junior.

However, he’s one of the defensive players who has had the best springs and this isn’t about who “broke out” but rather who is trending up — Shepperd is doing just that.

Sheppard has had a winding road to Ole Miss, starting his career back in 2015 at Syracuse, playing in two games at defensive end before making the transition to the SEC in 2016, sitting out a year. In 2017, he played in just three games and recorded eight tackles while in 2018 he broke out and became one of the team’s most feared defenders.

Fortunately for the Rebels, he hasn’t slowed down this spring. In fact, he’s ramped it up a bit, becoming one of the leaders on defense and looking like an absolute monster in the spring game and all offseason long, per the coaching staff.

Can he make a seamless transition from defensive end to outside linebacker? It seems that way.

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