College football has only been in full swing for three weeks, but that hasn't stopped fans and media members from expressing their impressions of first-year head coaches. While names like Florida's Jon Sumrall and Ole Miss's Pete Golding are off to hot starts in 2026, some are making a name for themselves in the Group of Five ranks, including former Washington Huskies
wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard.Despite posting a 1-2 record through the early part of the season in his first year as the head coach at Oregon State, Shephard has emerged as one of the most electric up-and-coming leaders in the country. Before leaving Kalen DeBoer's staff at Alabama for Corvallis, the first-time head coach served as UW's assistant head coach, wide receivers
coach, and passing game coordinator in 2022 and 2023.
In his short time on Montlake, Shephard was responsible for arguably the greatest receiver room in program history, and one that should be considered among college football's best, consisting of five NFL draft picks: Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan, Denzel Boston, and Germie Bernard. In Shephard's two years on staff, the Huskies posted a combined record of 25-3 along with a trip to the national championship in 2023.
Following Washington's historic season, the highly touted assistant followed his head coach to Tuscaloosa.
a 1 of 1 coach 💯🗣️
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) September 22, 2026
go inside JaMarcus Shephard's first career win as a head coach. pic.twitter.com/9gswN2N5Xq
Stepping into a program that finished 2-10 last year, the Beavers' new leader had his work cut out for him, including a pair of ranked non-conference opponents, No. 25 Houston and No. 11 Texas Tech. Despite being heavy underdogs in each of the two contests, the Beavers found themselves in one-possession games late in the fourth quarter, but were unable to pull off the upset on either occasion. Oregon State was finally able to get in the win column last week following a 52-17 demolition of Montana.
After helping produce one of the most explosive offenses in college football over the last decade at UW in 2023, the wide receiver guru is already developing another high-end weapon in true freshman wideout Jesse Legree, who currently leads the FBS in receiving yards with 476.
Three years removed from his time in Seattle, Shephard is now looking to rebuild a Pacific Northwest program of his own. While he and his staff certainly have a lot of work left in front of them as they prepare for their first season in the new-look Pac-12, the former Washington assistant is already turning heads less than a month into his inaugural season.
Oregon State rounds out non-conference play this week with a trip to El Paso, Texas, to take on UTEP.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Former Washington Assistant Turning Heads as Oregon State HC
