LSU’s Russell Shepard Suspended For Two More Games, According To Report

According to Randy Rosetta of TigerSportsDigest.com, that number is three.

Shepard was suspended for speaking with a teammate about that player’s meeting with NCAA officials prior to Shepard’s own meeting related to Willie Lyles.

Technically, it was neither as Shepard lost his eligibility for speaking to a teammate before meeting with NCAA officials about Willie Lyles.

Shepard is not in trouble because of Willie Lyles. Instead, Shepard finds himself ineligible because he conferred with a teammate after they had spoken to NCAA investigators during the course of the Lyles investigation. Now, the NCAA is looking into what was said between Shepard and the teammate, and whether it compromised the investigation. It’s an issue investigators take very seriously and could impact Shepard’s eligibility long-term.

The reason he’s been suspended? Shepard spoke with a teammate about that player’s meeting with NCAA officials prior to Shepard’s own meeting.

LSU said they plan to apply to have Shepard reinstated and his eligibility restored, but there is no current timetable for a ruling on that application.

In case you’re just now joining us, the Baton Rouge speedster is reportedly in trouble for living with a LSU student worker, with the rent being divided in a suspect manner.

Earlier in the week was Tennessee’s spell of bad news. Actually, every spell is a spell of bad news for Tennessee, but things got really, really bad for a while. Now it looks like it’s LSU’s turn. If Jordan Jefferson and others are unable to play due to arrests in the bar brawl case and Shepard is suspended ... well, that game could look like last year’s Chick-fil-A game, in which a scandal-depleted UNC team, uh, almost beat LSU.

“It’s premature at this point,” he said, adding this typically Miles-ian gem: “When I know more, I’ll be forthcoming. Or I won’t be forthcoming, and I’ll be honestly deceptive.“Miles is likely not actually lying or planning to lie about Shepard’s eligibility — but it’s Les Miles, so who knows, really?

For LSU news, keep an eye on And The Valley Shook.

It’s a cash-strapped time for our nation, and most especially for our student-athletes. Contrary to popular opinion, student-athletes can have summer jobs, albeit closely monitored one whose payments are scrutinized for $5,000 tips from overeager boosters. Some players, either enrolled in classes or living off the largesse of their parents, choose to just relax, enjoy their time off, and live with someone else while pocketing money earmarked for student housing. By some players, we mean Russell Shepard of LSU.

Shepard was set to attend SEC Media Days last week, but was a late scratch from the lineup for “business he had to take care of in Baton Rouge,” according to Les Miles. That business probably had something to do with not paying rent properly, something you are supposed to do under NCAA amateurism rules. (In case you haven’t noticed, that’s something the NCAA’s sort of been paying attention to lately, albeit with wildly different results in many cases.)

Shepard has been living with a student who works in the LSU football office, according to ESPN’s Joe Schad, and the issues ultimately come down to how the rent was being split between the player and the athletic’s office worker.

Be sure to head to And The Valley Shook for all LSU-related analysis. Keep track of the goings-on of SEC Media Day on our storystream.

Russel Shepard’s Friday absence from SEC Media Day is due to a compliance issue related to off-campus housing, TigerSportsDigest.com reports. Shepard was one of three LSU football players expected to represent the school at the event, but had been a mysterious no-show until now.

Shepard has supposedly been dealing with housing issues since he arrived on campus, and could see his eligibility in jeopardy this coming season. The report contradicts an earlier statement by LSU media relations director Michael Bonnette, who denied rumors of suspension saying that Shepard’s absence was due to personal reasons.