Laviska Shenault
Laviska Terrell Shenault Jr.[1] (born October 5, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado.
No. 5 – Carolina Panthers | |||||||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Irving, Texas, U.S. | October 5, 1998||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas) | ||||||||||
College: | Colorado (2017–2019) | ||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2022 | |||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Early years
Shenault attended DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas, where he played high school football. As a senior, he had 46 receptions for 825 yards and nine touchdowns. He committed to the University of Colorado Boulder to play college football. Shenault also played basketball as a freshman in high school, but quit rather than cut his trademark dreadlocks.[2]
College career
As a freshman at Colorado in 2017, Shenault played in 12 games, recording seven receptions for 168 yards.[3] As a sophomore in 2018, he became a starter and recorded 11 receptions for 211 yards and an 89-yard touchdown in the first game of the season against Colorado State.[4][5][6] Against Arizona State, he had 13 receptions for 127 yards with two receiving touchdowns and two rushing.[7] He also caught the 40-yard game winning touchdown against Nebraska on September 18.[8] He ended the season with 86 receptions (leading the NCAA in receptions per game, missing three with an injury; also the third most in a season in school history) for 1,011 yards (4th nationally, 9th best in school history) and six touchdowns, supplemented with 115 yards rushing for five touchdowns.[9] His 2019 junior season was highlighted by returning from a knee injury to break four tackles on a crucial 4th down conversion to set up the game winning field goal over Stanford,[10] and nine receptions for 172 yards a touchdown against USC. After totaling 764 yards and 6 touchdowns that year, Shenault decided to forgo his senior year and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft.[11] At the time, he was the 11th Buffalo all-time in receiving yards and 8th in receptions, he was also tied for 5th with over 100 yards receiving in eight of his 27 games.
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Bench press | Wonderlic | ||||
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6 ft 0+5⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
227 lb (103 kg) |
31+7⁄8 in (0.81 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) | 4.58 s | 1.61 s | 2.67 s | 17 reps | 14 | ||||
All values from NFL Combine[12] |
Jacksonville Jaguars
Shenault was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the 42nd overall pick, the 9th of 35 wide receivers.[13] In the first game of the 2020 season against the Indianapolis Colts, Shenault caught three passes for 37 yards and an 18-yard touchdown that tied the game at 14 late in the second quarter of the 27–20 victory.[14] In the last game of the season, also against the Colts, he caught both of his teams touchdowns in a 14-28 loss.[15] His 58 receptions for 600 yards (6th and 7th among rookies) was a rare positive for the 1-15 Jaguars.
His second season was highlighted by 110 scrimmage yards in a week 4 loss to Cincinnati. His 63 receptions for 619 yards were the most for a player with 0 touchdowns in 2021,[16] and second on the team to Marvin Jones.[17]
Carolina Panthers
Shenault was traded to the Carolina Panthers on August 29, 2022 in exchange for 2023 seventh-round and 2024 sixth-round picks.[18] In his first game with the team, he caught a 67-yard touchdown from Baker Mayfield in a Week 3 victory over the New Orleans Saints.[19]
References
- Hayes, Matt. "Meet the Colorado WR Who Has the NFL Drooling: 'He's Julio Jones, Only Bigger'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- Schrotenboer, Brent (October 4, 2018). "Colorado football player chose his dreadlocks over hoops and now leads nation in receiving". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- Howell, Brian (August 16, 2018). "CU Buffs' Laviska Shenault displays star potential". BuffZone.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- Howell, Brian. "KD Nixon, Laviska Shenault play starring roles with CU Buffs offense". BuffZone.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019.
- Howell, Brian (September 19, 2018). "UCLA's Chip Kelly impressed with Buffs' Laviska Shenault". Denver Post. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- Kosmider, Nick (September 15, 2018). "That's Viska: Colorado sophomore WR Shenault continues to..." The Athletic. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- Stapleton, Arnie (October 8, 2018). "Shenault's 4 TDs lead No. 21 Colorado past ASU 28-21". Myrtle Beach Sun News. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- "'Of Course The Last Touchdown': Laviska Shenault Remembers 2018 CU Win Against Nebraska". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- "Laviska Shenault Jr. College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- "CU football notes: Laviska Shenault fights through pain in Buffs' win against Stanford". BuffZone. November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- Kercheval, Ben (December 3, 2019). "2020 NFL Draft: Colorado WR Laviska Shenault declares as potential first-round pick". Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- "Laviska Shenault Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- Oehser, John (April 24, 2020). "Round 2: Shenault is the selection at No. 42". Jaguars.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- "Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars - September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- "Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- "Most Receptions With No Touchdowns In 2021". StatMuse. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- "2021 Jacksonville Jaguars Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- "Panthers acquire WR Laviska Shenault from Jaguars in trade". NFL.com. August 29, 2022.
- "New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers - September 25th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.