NDSU’s Shepherd Named Valley Football Special Teams Player of the Week

ST. LOUIS – (NDSU Athletics) North Dakota State punt returner Darrius Shepherd was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week by the league office Sunday, Oct. 21. It is his second career award.

Shepherd, a senior wide receiver from Blue Springs, Mo., accounted for 236 all-purpose yards – tied for fourth most in the conference this year – in North Dakota State’s 28-14 win over Illinois State. He returned two punts for 103 yards including a 69-yarder to set up a three-play touchdown drive that made it a 28-0 game.

He caught six passes for a career-high 126 yards and became the first NDSU player in four years with multiple 100-yard receiving games in a season. Shepherd caught a 55-yard pass leading to a touchdown on NDSU’s opening drive and added a 44-yard catch on the next possession.

Shepherd moved into fifth in career receptions at NDSU (154) and sixth in receiving yards (2,288).

No. 1-ranked North Dakota State is scheduled to play South Dakota at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.