'Work in progress'

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Oct 1, 2009 - Page: 1C

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Depending on which side of the field you line up on, and especially which sideline you occupy, LSU freshman quarterback Russell Shepard can be either a joy to watch or a pain to deal with.

For the Tigers — even his defensive teammates will concede — there’s a definite appreciation that the freshman dynamo is their teammate and not somebody else’s.

So strong is that appreciation the LSU players understand the chorus of pleading coming from the fan base to get Shepard the ball more.

That’s one of the hot-button themes this week as the No. 4-ranked Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) square off with 18th-ranked Georgia (3-1, 2-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (CBS) at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.

“Any time he steps on the field and puts his hands on the ball, he can take it the distance,” senior Keiland Williams said. “He can make a guy miss, and he’s really amazing in the open field. Any time he steps on the field, we’re all eager to see what he can do.”

Added tailback Charles Scott, “When he gets out there, you never know where he’s going to go or what he’s going to (do). He runs to daylight and has done a darn good job of finding it.

“We wait to see something new every week.”

There have been signals the waiting is over, or at least there will be less waiting between appearances.

Shepard was in the Mississippi State game for more snaps than any game so far, and notably was in the backfield with starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson as a running back — a decoy as it turned out — for several plays.

When Shepard has entered the game as the Tigers quarterback in the wildcat formation, the results have been hard to ignore: 11 carries for 74 yards, 6.7 per attempt, and he has yet to be dropped for a loss.

Jefferson is in a unique position of being the player who loses snaps as Shepard emerges, but he also would benefit the most if his young backup can put defenses on their heels.

“We try to do different things with Russell because he’s such a great athlete who affects the defense,” said Jefferson, who has produced 7.9 yards a carry when he’s run the ball. “(LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton) tries to keep him involved with a lot of different plays because I don’t think defenses are real sure to do when he’s on the field. He adds a lot to our offense.”

In the process, Shepard has created some new wrinkles — and headaches — for the LSU defense during practice.