Washington has officially announced its new wide receivers coach.

JaMarcus Shephard has joined the program as the team’s new wideout coach after Junior Adams left for Oregon last month. Shephard will also serve as the Huskies’ associate head coach and passing game coordinator.

“I am excited to welcome JaMarcus and his family to our program,” said head coach Kalen DeBoer in a statement. “I’ve followed his success over the years and always been impressed with how hard and well coached his players are. He’s done a great job recruiting top talent and proven to have the ability to develop them while under his guidance. JaMarcus is a great fit with our staff and I am excited about the impact he will have on wide receiver position group, our offense and our program as a whole.”

According to The Athletic’s Christian Caple, Shephard has signed a two-year deal worth $650,000 annually, roughly $150,000 more than what Washington was paying Adams.

It’s hard not to be excited about the arrival of Shephard. After working as the wideout coach and co-offensive coordinator at Purdue for the last five years (four as the co-OC), Shephard comes over with experience coaching up some of college football’s most dynamic recent receivers.

In 2021, the 9-4 Boilermakers averaged 355.3 passing yards per game, good for fifth in the nation. Purdue wideout David Bell caught 93 passes (11th nationally) for 1,286 yards (15th) in 11 games.

Bell earned first-team All-Big Ten for the second straight season. In 2020, Bell led the Big Ten in receptions (53), receiving touchdowns (eight) and yards per game (104.2), while teammate Rondale Moore caught 35 passes for 270 yards over just three games (injuries). Those two were named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in consecutive seasons (2018 and 2019).

In 2018, Moore led the nation with 114 receptions for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns, won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player, and was the first true freshman consensus All-American in Big Ten history. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Shephard was the primary recruiter for both Bell and Moore, as well as 4-star 2019 signee Milton Wright and 4-star 2021 tight end Maliq Carr. Wright had 732 yards and seven receiving touchdowns this past season for the Boilermakers, and has totaled 1,325 yards over his first three seasons.

Prior to Purdue, Shephard coached inside receivers at Washington State in 2016 and served as Western Kentucky’s receiver coach in 2014 and 2015.