One of Louisiana’s top high school running backs will join Duke’s backfield in 2025.
Senior Nate Sheppard from Mandeville, La. (Mandeville HS), announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on Friday.
Sheppard is coming off a monster junior season which saw him rush for 1,816 yards over 13 games, scoring 32 rushing touchdowns. He also hauled in four passing TDs, and per his social media, scored a touchdown every eight times he touched the ball, on average.
Sheppard (5-11, 190) is considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals.com. He had close to two dozen offers and listed California, Northwestern, Cincinnati and Tulane among his other finalists. He visited Duke in June.
“This is a football decision first, but the degree is a big part of it,” Sheppard told Rivals.com about his commitment. https://n.rivals.com/news/duke-lands-a-commitment-from-rb-nate-sheppard “Football doesn’t last forever, and Duke is a very prestigious academic institution. I fit in very well over there. Being Duke and having a higher academic standard, there are a lot of kids like me that want to be great and are smart enough to understand the sport and grow as a team.”
Sheppard is part of a football and sports family. His father, Willie Sheppard, played defensive back for Louisiana Tech from 1999-2001, according to Crescent City Sports. His mom, Rebekah Boyd, also attended Louisiana Tech and played volleyball. Sheppard’s brother, Will Sheppard transferred from Vanderbilt to Colorado in the off-season.
On3 Recruits considers Sheppard the No. 35 running back in the nation and the No. 18 overall player from the state of Louisiana.
More than 20 players from the Class of 2025 have already committed to Duke. The Blue Devils now have pledges from two running backs, with Javin Gordon from Toccoa, Ga. being the other.
Duke Class of 2025 Commitments
| Kavon Simmons | WR | Wake Forest | Wake Forest HS | Duke |
| Jaivon Solomon | WR | Gray, GA | Jones County HS | Duke |
| Qeanu Johnson | WR | Hamden, CT | Hamden Hall HS | Duke |
| Bradley Gompers | TE | Pittsburgh, PA | Central Catholic | Duke |
| Maliki Wright | S | Orlando, FL | Dr. Phillips HS | Duke |
| Javin Gordon | RB | Toccoa, GA | Stephens County HS | Duke |
| Nate Sheppard | RB | Mandeville, LA | Mandeville HS | Duke |
| Dan Mahan | QB | Burlington | Williams HS | Duke |
| Cole Allen | OT | Flowood, MS | Jackson Prep | Duke |
| Evan Scott | OT | Evans, GA | Lakeside HS | Duke |
| Kai Jacobowitz | OT | Carlsbad, CA | Carlsbad HS | Duke |
| Nathan Kutufaris | OT | Springfield, PA | Cardinal O’Hare HS | Duke |
| Roman Fina | OT | Tucson, AZ | Salpointe Catholic HS | Duke |
| Jamin Brown | OL | Gadsden, AL | Southside HS | Duke |
| Asher Wasserman | LB | Hamden, CT | Hamden Hall HS | Duke |
| Cameron Smith | LB | Philadelphia, PA | St. Joseph’s HS | Duke |
| Elliott Schaper | LB | Austin, TX | Westlake HS | Duke |
| Bariate Kara | EDGE | Loganville, GA | Loganville Christian | Duke |
| Sampson Onuoha | EDGE | Belmont, MA | Belmont Hill School | Duke |
| Ayden Cain | DL | McDonough, GA | Dutchtown HS | Duke |
| Julius Columbus | DL | Gainesville, GA | Gainesville HS | Duke |
| Tommy Rupley | DL | Belmont, MA | Belmont Hill School | Duke |
| Kaleb Lanier | CB | Decatur, GA | Decatur HS | Duke |
| Kolbe Harmon | CB | Brentwood. TN | Brentwood Academy | Duke |
| Ma’khi Jones | CB | Alpharetta. GA | Milton HS | Duke |
| William Felder | CB | Philadelphia, PA | Roman Catholic HS | Duke |
