Tag: Matt Simms

Ajani of a thousand miles: Ajani Sheppard’s Rutgers career began with an important first step on Saturday

Rutgers football quarterback Ajani Sheppard made an important first step on Saturday against Wagner.

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.

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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.

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“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!

Watch: Rutgers football freshman quarterback Ajani Sheppard in offseason workouts

Ajani Sheppard is showing good progress in offseason workouts.

Ajani Sheppard is putting in work this offseason following the completion of his first spring workouts as a Rutgers football player.

A video posted by Matt Simms to social media on Wednesday shows a snapshot of Sheppard’s continued offseason work. It also shows his potential as a passer.

Simms, a former NFL quarterback who is now a trainer, has been working with Sheppard over the past couple of years. He recently praised the performance of Sheppard in offseason workouts prior to the start of spring practice.

Sheppard is a former three-star recruit from Iona Prep (New Rochelle, N.Y.). He committed to Rutgers in November after de-committing from Old Dominion just days before.

Sheppard had an impressive senior season as he threw for 2,393 yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also proved himself to be a dual threat as he ran the ball 142 times for 1,291 yards with 11 touchdowns.

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Iona Prep finished the season 9-3. Their schedule was highlighted by a 42-35 win over Don Bosco Prep, a New Jersey powerhouse program.

In talking with Rutgers Wire last month, Simms said that Sheppard has the potential to be an impact player in the Big Ten.

“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.”

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Former NFL quarterback Matt Simms on Ajani Sheppard: He is going to ‘be a very dynamic football player in the Big Ten Conference

Former NFL quarterback Matt Simms speaks about training Rutgers football quarterback Ajani Sheppard.

Former NFL quarterback Matt Simms has been training Ajani Sheppard for nearly three years, giving him a chance to watch up close the development and growth of the Rutgers football quarterback.

Sheppard, who committed to Rutgers football last fall, is currently enrolled for spring practice with the Big Ten program.

Now a quarterback trainer, Simms got connected with Sheppard via Darius Wilson. Currently at William & Mary, Wilson was the starting quarterback at Iona Prep prior to Sheppard. Wilson approached Simms about bringing Sheppard, saying “He’s got a lot of potential but he has no idea what he is doing.”

After a training session, Simms was impressed and excited to work with Sheppard.

“Really the entire process of his development has been pretty awesome to see through the years. You could say that Ajani, when I first met him, was one of those guys that was extremely raw, and just an unfiltered talent, where you can see he was a great athlete,” Simms told Rutgers Wire.

“He moved well, he had a flexible arm. And you could see that he was someone that was going to progressively grow into a D1 caliber type of body, right? And that’s because you meet his father and you know that his brother played at Ole Miss – he had a lot of that untapped potential to him if he dedicated his life to it.

“And he has and it’s been really cool to see that acceleration each and every year of his growth at the position. And as cliche as it sounds, he is one of those dudes that just has got a smile on his face. He’s charismatic, he’s never too low. And he just is a constant pro at just improving incrementally over time. And those are the players that at the end of the day usually shine brightest on game day.”

Last fall, Shappard was committed to Old Dominion before de-committing and flipping to Rutgers. He also had offers from Air Force, Army and UConn as well as several MAC programs.

As a senior, Sheppard was impressive, throwing for 2,393 yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions.

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Simms, who played seven seasons in the NFL and is best known for his time with the New York Jets, believes that Sheppard can and will continue his development this spring at Rutgers.

“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.”

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