Russel Shepard

Fresh off a 55-48 playoff loss in which he accumulated more than 500 total yards and six touchdowns, Russell Shepard's high school career is officially finished.

The Cy Ridge High School superstar is now eager to start his college career, which looms closer as the NCAA officially cleared him Tuesday for early entry into LSU.

"I'm an LSU Tiger now," Shepard said. "I'll be enrolling in school January 9. I got the official word [Tuesday]. I am ready to go in, get my playbook, learn and get into the fight for the starting quarterback position."

Following a season in which LSU's quarterback play was anything but steady, the Houston native is aware of his growing reputation before ever stepping foot on the grass in Tiger Stadium. He was recently featured on Snoop Dogg's TV show "Father Hood" giving advice to Snoop's son at a quarterback camp.

"It all just adds to the hype," Shepard said. "Coach Porter and coach Miles talked to me [Monday]. They realize that I'm coming into school as probably the most hyped player that's come to this school since Ryan Perrilloux. They coach me up on it and teach me how to handle it, but it just adds to the hype, adds to the pressure that's going to be put on me."

But Shepard refuses to fall victim to his own reputation, knowing hype alone does not equate to success on the football field.

"I'm the first one to tell you that hype is hype," Shepard said. "I have to go in and prove myself to teammates and to my coaches. I'm not going in with a big head. I'm going in as a freshman, somebody that has to work their way to the top. If I go in and do what I'm supposed to do, I can go down as one of the greatest players in LSU history. I'm all for the challenge."

Shepard said he will receive his final transcript from high school around Jan. 7 and will move to campus in about a month. But until then, he is still helping recruit for the Tigers in hopes of landing one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, speaking with top prospects like wide receiver Rueben Randle and Alabama running back commit Trent Richardson.

Shepard said he will actually be Trent Richardson's host when he comes on an official visit to campus after Christmas.

"Rueben [Randle] is focused," Shepard said. "Right now, I think he's kind of down to three schools: LSU, 'Bama, and Oklahoma."

Shepard said the worry fans feel about losing Randle probably stems from the loss of John Curtis' Joe McKnight to USC in spring 2007.

"I think Joe McKnight scared a lot of people because that was the first big recruit they lost out of [Louisiana] along with John David Booty to USC, but I think we've got Rueben [Randle] for the most part," Shepard said. "Of course you never know until signing day. I think if he comes to LSU, he's going to find a quarterback that he can run with throughout his whole three to four years and kind of develop a relationship with."

Shepard said the potential for coaching changes along with the Tigers' late season collapse could have an effect on recruiting.

"It's definitely going to weigh in some people's minds," Shepard said. "It depends on the coaching staff to go out and recruit kids as well as me. But even losing like this can help: A lot of kids are going to have to play early next year."

Latest AP Pole

1 Oklahoma (43) 1599
2 Alabama (21) 1565
3 LSU 1466
4 Missouri (1) 1453
5 Texas 1362
6 Penn State 1252
7 Texas Tech 1105
8 Brigham Young 1098
9 USC 1087
10 South Florida 1035
11 Georgia 1018
12 Florida 914
13 Auburn 860
14 Ohio State 829
15 Utah 713
16 Kansas 650
17 Boise State 549
18 Wisconsin 520
19 Vanderbilt 459
20 Virginia Tech 290
21 Oklahoma State 277
22 Fresno State 232
23 Oregon 199
24 Connecticut 126
25 Wake Forest 107

I am not too upset we aren't #2- if we can keep winning, it doesn't matter. We will see who is number 2 on November 11th. However, there is a small chance that both LSU and Bama are still undefeated when they play!

Oregon State Upsets USC

Hey Herbstriet, Corso, and all the other ESPN folks that are USC lovin, lips joined to Pete Carroll's butt, wanna be sports analysts- you like apples? How do you like dem apples? I swear I heard someone say that they thought USC could beat the Oakland Raiders. Kirk, my boy, that wasn't you was it? Actually, I am kind of upset that USC got beat by OSU, who got beat by Penn State by like 40 points the week before. The reason being- I hoped that USC would match up against an SEC team, preferably LSU in the BCS Championship game. Oh Well! It was still fun to see them get beat!!!

Major "dat a boy" to Jacquizz Rodgers (#1), who rushed for 186 yards vs USC. Mr. Jacquizz's helmet was ripped off in frustration by punk faggot Brian Cushing #10, who just couldn't tackle Rodgers honestly. If my facts are correct, USC got penalized twice for incorrect tackles on Mr. Jacquizz. Oh, punk faggot Mrs Cushing did not get penalized for his disgraceful displace of anger. No I did not mess that up. What the...... REFs come on!!!! His helmet was ripped off his mug and no flag!!!! Seriously?!?!?! Who cares really, Mr. Jacquizz got the last laugh- or was it me!! LOL!! OSU 27 USC 21.

Here are the latest AP standings:

1 USC (62) 1621
2 Oklahoma 1484
3 Georgia (2) 1475
4 Florida (1) 1442
5 LSU 1363
6 Missouri 1360
7 Texas 1174
8 Alabama 1132
9 Wisconsin 1091
10 Texas Tech 962
11 Brigham Young 919
12 Penn State 891
13 South Florida 798
14 Ohio State 790
15 Auburn 785
16 Wake Forest 711
17 Utah 574
18 Kansas 555
19 Boise State 363
20 Clemson 300
21 Vanderbilt 242
22 Illinois 224
23 East Carolina 201
24 TCU 117
25 Fresno State 105

Way to go Vandy, making the top 25!! Where is Tenn, oh wait, they got beat by UCLGAY and smoked by FL.

Mr. Scott

Just wanted to give you a little insight what Charles Scott thinks about when he gets the ball. If you don’t know who he is he’s #32 you can find him in the endzone

``When I'm in a situation where you're coming to tackle me, I'm thinking about punishing you, and it's punishment to the point where if we keep hitting head on, who's going to quit first?'' Scott said. ``Either you're going to get tired of tackling me by the time the third quarter comes around, or I'm going to get tired of running into you. That's how I think.''

LSU vs Auburn Rundown

I think that LSU has a pretty good shot at winning- assuming one thing: Andrew Hatch or Jarret Lee step up to the plate. I thought both looked decent; however, Auburn's D is going to be much more stingy than App State or N Texas. We are going to miss Beckwith for the time being but I think others will step-up in his absence.

Russell Shepard Highlights (See what the hype is about!)

I wish there were more throwing highlights, but from what I hear he has a cannon.