Reserve Washington State safety Adrian Shepherd enters NCAA transfer portal

PULLMAN – Safety Adrian Shepherd, who competed for a starting job at Washington State during fall camp this year but fell out of the race and played limited reps off the bench, has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal.

Shepherd announced his decision over Twitter on Monday.

A second-year Coug, Shepherd appeared in six games this year and registered four tackles. He was used primarily on special teams and played sparingly on defense, entering the lineup in blowout wins over Colorado State, Cal and Stanford.

Shepherd worked with WSU’s first team at free safety during spring camp and took starting reps at the position early in fall camp, but he eventually slipped down the depth chart this preseason.

Although he was listed as WSU’s No. 2 strong safety throughout the season, Shepherd spent most of the year watching from the sideline as redshirt freshman Jaden Hicks and senior Jordan Lee held down responsibilities at the position.

Lee missed six games due to an injury, and Hicks shouldered the workload at strong safety in his stead. Shepherd had cross-trained at both safety positions, but the Cougars leaned on Sam Lockett III at free safety. During fall camp, coach Jake Dickert said he expected all four of those safeties to play significant roles. Hicks, Lee and Lockett turned out to be the only dependable options.

From McKinney High in Wichita Falls, Texas, Shepherd came to WSU as a three-star recruit and the No. 125-rated safety in the country, according to 247Sports.com. He appeared in one game in 2021 and did not record any statistics.