By STEVE CORNELIUS, CJ Sports Editor
Somerset — Pulaski County High School football standout Mikey Shepherd has signed to play football for Campbellsville University Tigers next fall.
At the tight end position for the Pulaski County football squad, Shepherd was one of the Maroons biggest playmakers. Shepherd led the Maroons with 6 fumble recoveries last season and another 3 this fall. This season, Shepherd had 28 receptions and scored four touchdowns. On the defensive end, Shepherd had 55 tackles with 8 of them resulting in losses.
Stats aside, Pulaski coach John Hines termed Shepherd as a great playmaker.
“Mikey Shepherd was a playmaker,” Hines exclaimed. “Mikey was really an undersized player as a tight end, but Mikey really did a great job at that position. He was a great blocker as a tight end and he was an outstanding receiver, who ran great routes. It seemed like he was always open and every time the quarterback put the ball in the air — Mikey always caught the ball.”
“But most of all, he was a playmaker,” Hines reiterated. “He led us in fumble recoveries and he made big interceptions. He made a huge interception in the Letcher Central game that sealed the deal for our first regional championship. He scored the winning touchdown against Whitley County in the regional semifinals.”
“He always made those big plays, and that is a sign of a good football player.”
It was Shepherd’s playmaker ability that interested the Campbellsville football scouts.
“I had been to Pulaski games at least three times a season, and in every game I watched Mikey was always moving. He was always running and he made plays,” Campbellsville University assistant football coach Ken Burress said. “He was a fast, quick receiver and I feel he will contribute to our program.”
“I think Mikey has a lot of intangibles that you can’t really measure,” Burress added. “Mikey is a positive and upbeat type of kid, and that’s the kind of players we want in our program.”
But after a freak baseball injury his sophomore year, leaving the young athlete with a broken jaw, many feared Shepherd's athletic career was ended for good.
“We thought we had lost him when he broke his jaw in a baseball game a couple of years ago,” Hines commented. “We didn’t know if he would play again, much less be at the level he had played before the injury. So that is a tribute to him, his hard work and his ability to come back to the team.”
“He was definitely a big part of our overall success,” Hines remarked. “He is a very positive kid and he has a lot of good qualities and a great work ethic.”
Shepherd recounted his prep career and how it almost ended after his jaw injury.
“I really didn’t even know if I was going to play my freshman year,” Shepherd said. “I really wanted to narrow my choices down to two sports and, at the time, it was just baseball and basketball. But my dad talked me into playing football my freshman year. I started JV and did really well. Then my sophomore year, I was playing on the varsity team.”
“I didn’t even know if I was going to get to play after I broke my jaw, down in Florida, during baseball,” Shepherd recalled. “But I worked my butt off and I earned a starting spot my junior season.”
“My senior year was great. We had the best record of any class that has ever came through the Pulaski football program,” Shepherd continued. “Playing football for four years at Pulaski has been a blast and it is something I will never forget.”
After breaking his jaw, Shepherd eased his way back onto the baseball field, and now has a shot to play two sports at the collegiate level.
“I didn’t really think I would ever be considered at colleges in baseball because I only played 5 or 6 games my sophomore year and last year I was coming off the broken jaw — plus I was a little timid playing after that injury,’ Shepherd admitted. “After talking with Coach Burress at Campbellsville, he said they would let me play both sports if I wanted. (Pulaski) coach Mayfield worked it out where the Campbellsville baseball coaches will come down and look at me play. So, I might get to play both sports at Campbellsville.”
