Ja'Quan Sheppard: DB · Maryland · #3.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ja'Quan Sheppard
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. The five seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Luke Fickell and Mike Locksley. The first one came in 2022: All-AAC. One game to point at: 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Michigan — Week 12, 2023.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
31 tackles. 8 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 3 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Maryland | 31 | 28 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 8 |
| 2022 | Cincinnati | 50 | 33 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 10 |
| 2021 | Cincinnati | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2020 | Cincinnati | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2019 | Cincinnati | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 94 | 71 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 18 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-6vs Towson | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-20vs Charlotte | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 42-14vs Virginia | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-9@ Michigan State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 44-17vs Indiana | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-37@ No. 4 Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27vs Illinois | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 | |
| Wk 9 | L 27-33@ Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 15-51vs No. 9 Penn State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 13-10@ Nebraska | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 24-31vs No. 2 Michigan | 6 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 42-24@ Rutgers | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 31-13vs Auburn | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 28 | 3.0 | 1.0 | — | 8 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
26%8 pass breakupsTackle volume
31tackles this seasonTFL rate
10%3 TFL31 tackles · 3 for loss · 1 sack · 8 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| Road5g | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 2.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Locksley
Pass share
55.8%
477 pass / 378 run
Plays / game
65.8
13 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
496 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #151 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Cincinnati and Maryland, 94 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2022) — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 1ST TEAM
All-AAC 1st team (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Luke Fickell and Mike Locksley.
