PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Even when Ajani Sheppard was in high school, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano knew that the quarterback had some special intangibles. It was those qualities that led Schiano to offer the New York quarterback late in the recruiting process.
Rutgers, in fact, was the only Power Five offer Sheppard had. The Big Ten program flipped Sheppard, previously an Old Dominion commit, in late November following a senior season where showed tremendous growth.
He also had offers from Air Force, Army and UConn as well as several MAC programs. But Rutgers got in Sheppard and convinced him to stay close to home.
On Saturday, Sheppard made his collegiate debut in the fourth quarter of a 52-3 win over Wagner. He completed both of his passes for 23 yards and had one rushing attempt for 10 yards.
Last season at Iona Prep (New Rochelle, New York), Sheppard had an impressive season where he threw for 2,393 yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. He enrolled at Rutgers in the spring.
“In high school, I saw a great competitor that was a winner. He’s really changed his body. If you saw him in high school, he looked more like a middle linebacker than he did a quarterback but he played quarterback like a middle linebacker, which is something I loved,” head coach Greg Schiano said on Monday.
“But you talk about reshaping his body; he has a great feel for the game. He’s a football player. Very instinctual. Yeah, so we’re thrilled to get the chance to keep developing him.”
Sheppard looked comfortable in the pocket on Saturday as he took a step forward in his development and growth.
[lawrence-related id=30752,30740]
Over the past couple of years, Sheppard has worked with Matt Simms to better his technique. A former NFL quarterback, Simms has worked with a number of current college and NFL quarterbacks during the offseason.
Simms told Rutgers Wire in April that he was positive about how far Sheppard can grow and develop.
[lawrence-related id=30739,30723]
“He’s a guy that with a little bit more experience, he’s going to be, I think, someone that can be a very dynamic football player in the Big Ten Conference. And I really truly believe that because the Iona Prep offense is, for a high school offense, not the easiest offense to run and command for young men,” Simms said.
“They just had the fortunate advantage of having a gentleman like Darius Wilson before him who was extremely talented and is at the FCS level, playing and performing extremely well.
“And then having Ajani who is extremely talented. And he’s someone that was relied upon as a runner a little bit more in high school because it’s easy to do that sometimes when you’re 6-foot-2, 235 pounds and run a 4.5 but he is definitely going to show some people that he has more than enough talent, to be a great passer in the Big Ten. And to be a great leader on that football team too just by the way that he carries himself.”
Scroll down and check out some photos of Ajani Sheppard over the years, from his time at Iona Prep where he was a three-star quarterback!