Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State head football coach Mike Sanford announced today (July 24) that he has promoted assistant coach Brian Sheppard to offensive coordinator. As part of his duties, Sheppard also coaches the Sycamore quarterbacks.
"As a result of what Brian has accomplished in his time at Indiana State working with our quarterbacks and the passing game, I have promoted him to offensive coordinator," Sanford said. "I am very confident in Brian and his ability to lead our offense."
Previously, Sheppard was the Indiana State passing game coordinator in addition to his role as the quarterbacks coach.
Sheppard came to Indiana State from Willamette University, where he was the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach.
In Sheppard's first year at Willamette, the Bearcats finished the 2012 season with a record of 8-2 while breaking numerous school records and concluding the year as one of the most prolific offensive teams in NCAA Division III. In their first game of the 2012 season the new look Bearcats beat Hardin-Simmons by a score of 58-34 while exploding for 727 total yards offensively. In the season opener, quarterback Josh Dean tied the school record with six touchdowns to go along with 468 passing yards en route to setting new Willamette season records with 273 pass completions, 422 attempts, 40 total touchdowns and 3,345 passing yards. Dean also led the Northwest Conference in passing efficiency rating (152.18). His 334.50 passing yards per game ranked fourth nationally and was sixth in both completions and total offensive yards per game.
As a team, Willamette ranked 10th nationally in total offense amassing 4,981 yards and 55 touchdowns. Overall, the Bearcats finished the seasons with one of the most potent passing attacks in the nation amassing 3,550 total passing yards with 37 touchdown passes at a 64% completion rate. Willamette finished the season with the #4 ranked passing offense in the nation. Willamette also finished in the top 20 nationally in scoring (#17, 39.6 points per game), third down percentage (#17, 48.34%), first downs (#8, 25.3 per game), and red zone offense (#17 86% score, 76% touchdown).
The Bearcats finished the season ranked #1 in the Northwest Conference in total offense (499.1 ypg), passing offense, scoring offense, 3rd down percentage, and red zone offense. Willamette's prolific offense owed it's success not only to Dean, but also to a bevy of talented playmakers surrounding him. Jake Knecht (Sr., WR), Jake Turner (Sr., WR), Benny Weischedel (Sr., TE), Terrell Malley (Sr. ATH), Dylan Jones (So., RB) were selected as All-Conference performers along with Dean.
Sheppard brings a great level of enthusiasm and a strong commitment to teaching the game. He has worked with several exceptional offensive programs during his coaching career, including the University of Tulsa, New Mexico State University and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
He spent the 2006 season as the offensive quality control coach at Tulsa University for Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe and offensive coordinator Charlie Stubbs. While at Tulsa, he served as an offensive assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach. The Golden Hurricane finished with an 8-4 record and earned a trip to the Armed Forces Bowl.
Sheppard coached at New Mexico State for three seasons and worked under two head coaches. The first two seasons were under head coach Hal Mumme. Sheppard initially worked with the secondary before moving to tight ends and inside receivers. He was also the punt team coordinator for two years. During his third year at NMSU, he coached the tight ends for head coach DeWayne Walker.
At UCLA, Sheppard worked with Head Coach Rick Neuheisel and Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow where he coached the Bruin tight ends.
He also served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College and Alderson-Broaddus College (W. Va.)
Sheppard's father, Mike, was an head coach as well as an assistant coach in college for 18 years, and was an assistant coach in the National Football League for approximately 20 years before he retired in 2011. In addition, Brian Sheppard has worked with highly-regarded coaches during his years as a player and a coach.
Sheppard played college football at Saddleback Junior College (Calif.) for Mark McElory, Southeastern Louisiana University for Hal Mumme, and Baker University (Kan.) for Mike Grossner. He played mostly at quarterback, but also spent some time at wide receiver throughout his career.
After concluding his eligibility in the fall of 2005, Sheppard graduated from Baker in the spring of 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business.
Sheppard and his wife, Victoria, reside in Terre Haute.
Indiana State opens the 2013 campaign at Indiana on Thursday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m. (ET) in a game that will be televised nationally by The Big Ten Network. ISU opens fall camp on August 1 inside Memorial Stadium.
