New UW Receivers Coach JaMarcus Shephard Will Have a Lot to Work With

The former Purdue assistant isn't hurting for pass-catching talent as he takes over.

JaMarcus Shephard's first order of business as the new University of Washington wide receivers coach will be to introduce himself around to the seven players now in his charge.

They alone represent reason enough for him to leave Purdue and the Big Ten and accept this job — the new coach finds himself surrounded by young but enviable pass-catching talent, Germie Bernard's exit aside.

Right off the bat, the challenge for him will be to determine who's the best of this group and capable of becoming the Huskies' No. 1 target when needed.

Rome Odunze or Jalen McMillan?

Or could it be one-time Texas Tech transfer Ja'Lynn Polk, who's barely had a chance to show his stuff after getting injured on the first play last season and needing surgery before he could return?

Shephard replaces Junior Adams, who made his coaching reputation at the UW, initially was one of two holdover assistants for Kalen DeBoer's staff but parlayed it into an Oregon job offer with more responsibility.

With a Big Ten background at a passing-minded school, Shephard is a ready replacement if not a step up, someone who's built a name recognized nationally and had some sort of recent interaction with Notre Dame. If nothing else, he'll be the most excitable coach on staff, someone with enough personality he should have no problem making a lasting connection with prospective recruits, similar to his predecessor.

Officially on the job for 24 hours, Shephard immediately will start breaking down film on his guys to what he has, but he could use a primer, which we will supply him with here:

Rome Odunze

This is the Huskies' leading receiver from last year, a big body similar to the Seattle Seahawks' DK Metcalf only without the big muscles, yet somebody who can get downfield in a hurry and beat a defensive back to the ball. Limited to seven starts because of injuries, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore from Las Vegas still hauled in a team-best 41 passes for 415 yards and a team-high 4 touchdowns. He caught a game-winning 8-yard scoring pass at Arizona with 6:44 left to play. Shephard's job will be to keep him on the field for an entire 12-game season and see how many times the Huskies can get him the ball. If Odunze doesn't at least double all of his numbers in the new offense and become an all-conference player, the new coach will need to answer for it.

Rome Odunze tries to make an acrobatic catch against WSU :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Jalen McMillan

This guys hails from Fresno, California, so he should be beside himself knowing the ball is going to come his way a lot more. He returns as the Huskies' most experienced wide receiver with 9 starts last season, 10 in his two seasons. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound sophomore made a point of announcing his Husky return amid the coaching change, taking on the role of a team leader. He comes off a season in which he caught 39 balls for a team-leading 470 yards and 3 scores, numbers that should jump significantly in the new offensive. He's shown himself to be a go-to player as well, catching a game-winning pass covering 20 yards with 21 seconds remaining to beat Stanford. He and Odunze should have a good-natured battle to see who can ring up the most stats.

Ja'Lynn Polk 

This guy comes from the same class but is more worldly than the others, having spent a full season in the Big 12 as a starter for Texas Tech as a true freshman in 2020 whereas Odunze and McMillan did more watching than playing that year. Unfortunately, he took a shot to the chest on the first play of the Montana season opener last September that required surgery and forced him to miss nine games. Demonstrating toughness, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound sophomore from Lufkin, Texas, ended up starting the first and last games on the UW schedule, catching 5 passes for 114 yards and a TD. He went 55 yards for a score against Colorado. Don't be shocked at all if his numbers match or exceed the other guys. He hasn't been fully unveiled in Seattle.

Ja'Lynn Polk joined the Huskies from Texas Tech / UW Athletics

Taj Davis

With Odunze, McMillan, Polk and the departed Terrell Bynum all nursing injuries, Davis had to step up and be the Huskies' top passing target for a while. He caught 19 passes in the first three games, but only 7 thereafter as people became healthy and this cut into his snaps. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore from Upland, California, made six starts and finished with 26 receptions for 329 yards and a score, which was a 19-yard TD pass against California. His goal under the new staff should be to show that he's more than a back-up to the others.

Giles Jackson

The Huskies coaxed this guy into joining them from Michigan, then didn't use him properly. With a 4.43-second 40-yard dash time, he's the fastest player on the team, now that Kyler Gordon (4.39) has left for the NFL. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound junior from Antioch, California, drew three starts, but finished with minuscule stats of 8 catches for 87 yards and no scores. This is a guy who returned kickoffs 95 and 97 yards for touchdowns against Maryland and Rutgers in the Big Ten. While at Purdue, Shephard never faced him, but no doubt knows who this guy is. He should be already drawing up long-distance plays to Jackson running full stride.

Jabez Tinae

As a true freshman, the solidly built 6-foot, 205-pounder from Seattle got a taste of the action with snaps against Arizona State and Washington State, but was basically kept under wraps. He didn't catch a pass. It will Shephard's role to get him involved in a bigger manner in an offense that will need all hands on deck from the receiving corps. 

Denzel Boston

Kalen DeBoer's staff didn't or couldn't keep everyone the previous coaches were recruiting — see Bernard, now at Michigan State — but this tall, possession receiver was a keeper. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Boston finished his Emerald Ridge High School career in Puyallup, Washington, with 105 receptions for 1,572 yards and 23 touchdowns. Shephard's will see if he can make him an early contributor in the wide-open offense. 

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