Isaiah Horton Opens Up About JaMarcus Shephard, Alabama Receivers Room

After being hired as Alabama football's next head coach in January 2024, Kalen DeBoer brought over numerous assistants from his previous job at Washington––one of which being wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard.

Crimson Tide fans grew accustomed to Shephard's infectious energy last season during post-practice interviews and also on the sidelines of Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Nevertheless, Alabama added a couple of recruits and transfers to its receivers room as they have a fresh look on Shephard.

“He’s a great coach,” Miami transfer wide receiver Isaiah Horton said of Shephard to Crimson Tide Sports Network’s Roger Hoover on Crimson Drive. “It was really special to connect with him. He’s a great guy. He’s a great human being. He teaches us just a lot. It’s more than just football.

"Obviously, he’s a great football coach, but what I respect about him is he’s a great guy. He teaches us life lessons that are going to carry us for the rest of our life. I appreciate him for that, and I know the rest of the guys do, as well.

“He’s a great motivator. He’s honest. He’s genuine. You can understand where he comes from. He’s real and he’s never going to sugarcoat anything with you. That’s what you appreciate about him. He’s just a super cool guy. You got to get around him, man. You can’t be sad around him. He’s cool with people. He’s great vibes.”

Alabama had a big need at wide receiver after several of its own pass-catchers entered the transfer portal, and DeBoer got a big commitment at the position from the portal in Horton on December 21.

The 6-foot-4 receiver originally from Murfreesboro, Tennessee has spent the last three seasons at Miami. He had 56 catches for 616 yards and five touchdowns in 2024 for the Hurricanes. Overall in his career, he has 70 catches for 790 yards and six touchdowns.

As previously stated, Alabama added a couple of recruits plus Horton to its receivers room in the offseason and now the group has some big expectations ahead of next season. Horton opened up about his fellow pass-catchers, as 2024 returnees Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard lead the group.

“Them guys are amazing,” Horton said. “They embraced me with open arms. I appreciate them guys. Those are my guys. Every single last one of them is just exactly what they are.

“Me and Germ [Bernard], we’ve connected. We kind of got close. Ryan [Williams too]. Really all the guys and we’re still building. But we see what we’ve got, and we know we’re gonna be nice and we know we’re gonna be special. And we are. We just got to keep working, we just got to keep going and it’s going to be nice.”

One Alabama receiver that fans are keeping an eye on is freshman Lotzeir Brooks. He was a consensus three-star recruit out of high school in New Jersey, but DeBoer among other members of the Crimson Tide has previously spoken about him and Horton is the latest.

"He's going to be nice," Horton said. "He's going to be one of them ones. Hard worker. His mindset and everything is on point. He understands the mission, we all understand the mission. We all understand the goal at hand and we're ready to go get it."

Alabama fans will get to see Horton, Shephard and the rest of the receivers room in action during the Crimson Tide's A-Day spring scrimmage on April 12.

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