NFL dreams do come true many players experience a lot of adversity, but if you can continue to love the game and want to be a part of it you can achieve big things. Commitment and hard work are displayed well in the story of Nathan Shepherd who will be a 25-year-old rookie in the upcoming season.
Nathan Shepherd was a drafted at pick 75 (3rd round) in this year's draft, but he took a long journey to get to this point.
The rookie who is originally from Canada didn’t get much recognition until playing in the senior bowl. Shepherd put up a really good combine and already came with the size
Shephard was an option teams liked very much but he did not have much attention seems as he played in the NIAA. Although he did receive awards such as AFCA All-America First team Defensive line.
The Ontario native was playing for Simon Hayes University in Canada who doesn’t give out athletic scholarships, therefore, he struggled to pay for college out of high school and was forced to drop out. Shepard isn’t one to be shy of work he is a blue-collar kind of guy. For two years he worked for an electrical company and in a big printing factory, working 15 hour days and pushing it to the limit in a tough environment. The whole time he was determined to get back on the field and continue to follow his dream of playing football professionally.
He soon got a job as a bouncer at a nightclub in Ontario where he would continue to work hard, and one night the boss said there was big guest coming in. That guest was Former NFL WR and current analyst Nate Burleson. Although it doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, he was the first NFL player shepherd had ever met, and it stuck with him. Shepherd could remember almost every detail of that encounter, and he was able to tell the story on Good Morning Football alongside Nate Burleson who is also from Canada and was a 3rd round pick in the 2003 draft. He said that Nate told him to stick with his dream and gave him a $100 bill as a pre singing bonus.
Shepherd eventually returned to college soon after at Fort Hays State University in Kansas where in 4 years he would record 188 tackles 34 of those being for a loss, a pretty good career considering he was double teamed on almost every play.
Listed at 6,4315 Shepherd was the first Division II player taken in the draft. He shows a lot of upside and potential to make a big impact early.
Shepherd came into the spotlight during the week of the senior bowl showing domination traits during practice but was unable to participate in the game because of a hand injury.
Shepherd recently inked his rookie deal a 3.4million dollar contract for 4 years with the New York Jets.
