Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze isn’t exactly sure what he’ll get out of defensive back Tee Shepard this season. Freeze hopes Shepard can become a big part of the team’s secondary rotation, but a toe injury could cost Shepard his junior season and force the team to place a redshirt on the talented defender.
According to the Clarion-Ledger’s Hugh Kellenberger, Ole Miss is sending Shepard’s MRI of an injured toe to Birmingham, Ala. to receive a second opinion.
Shepard suffered an injury to his big toe this weekend, and the team wants to determine the severity of a potential tear to the tendon underneath the toe. The second opinion will determine whether or not Shepard is out for the season.
The injury is simply the next obstacle for Shepard.
Shepard originally enrolled as a highly-touted recruit to Notre Dame as part of the 2012 recruiting class. Shepard only lasted two months in South Bend, Ind. before he decided to leave the program and landed at a junior college. Shepard went through the recruiting process a second time this past year. Mississippi State originally received a first verbal commitment from Shephard before he finally settled on Ole Miss.
After this unique trek to Oxford, Miss., Shepard still needed to be cleared to play for the Rebels by the NCAA. Shepard was finally ruled eligible Aug. 1.
If Shepard takes a medical redshirt, the junior will still have two years of eligibility remaining. But Ole Miss hopes that particular situation doesn’t come to fruition. Ole Miss likes it depth at cornerback behind Senquez Golson and Derrick Jones with Shepard in the fold. Sophomores Kailo Moore and David Kamara will likely receive more repetitions if Shepard’s injury is worse than anticipated.