NFL player-turned-motivational speaker CL Shepherd shares powerful message with Alabama

Alabama football heard from another guest speaker this week as head coach Nick Saban brings in a cadre of different voices to address his team. On Wednesday, it was former NFL offensive lineman-turned-motivational speaker C.L. “Shep” Shepherd.

Shepherd had apparently spoken to the team in 2022, as he made reference to when he addressed them “last year.” But following a disappointing campaign for Alabama in 2022, he brought a message of bringing renewed energy to the chase of greatness.

“You at ‘Bama. Congratulations,” Shepherd said, clapping to a mostly silent room. “What now? I know you’re special. I don’t know your resume. I didn’t read your bios. But you in this room, you in this seat, you on this staff, congratulations. But making it to the top and making it at the top are two different things. You gotta have a mindset shift. You gotta shift gears, bruh. And you gotta go to another level. It’s going to take decisive engagement on consistency, on purpose, and on result. And I want you to enjoy the journeys.”

ELITE!!

“The chase must be as gratifying as the catch.”

Special thanks to @Shep71 for stopping by and talking with the team! pic.twitter.com/9lbKEChcvh

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 9, 2023

Shepherd hammered home his point, noting that he was looking at a room of players capable of doing some great things on the field. He challenged them if they were capable of making the decisions needed to get there.

“I’m not talking to everybody in this room, but I’m talking to somebody in this room. And for you, it has nothing to do with the resources and the things available to you. Somebody in this room, it’s as simple as you just gotta make a big-boy decision. Because you’re going to stop making excuses and you’re going to make history. You’re going to get out of your own way. You won’t be focused on who isn’t here and what you don’t have. You can embrace the opportunities that are in front of you,” Shepherd said.

The beginning of the video of Shepherd’s talk, shared by Alabama on Twitter, features him making a broader point to the assembled players and coaches: Be clear on your own identity purpose so that you may lend yourself fully to the work of winning a championship as a team.

“Every coach will tell you that complexity is the enemy of execution. Clarity is power. But if you don’t know who you are and what you’re here to do, of course you’re not going to know what to do in life, let alone on third down. Those are two questions that you should be in desperate pursuit of, figuring out answers to those two questions,” Shepherd said. “Who am I? And what am I here to do?”