The rush is his nightly dose of updates to the Ohio state football recruiting route, which controls the latest in commitments and goals across the country.
Shepard could follow the same path as Hall
When Mike Hall hit the camp circuit in the summer of 2019, Streetsboro High School (Ohio) ranked 409 nationwide in the recruiting class of 2021.
Hall’s outstanding performance at the Lake Erie College Raw Talent Sports Show sparked an increase in his recruitment, earning him his first two big deals (from Cincinnati and Kentucky) and some extra attention from the State of Ohio.
Hall continued to work that summer and fall, earning an offer from the Buckeyes during his junior season and finally made a commitment in February to Ohio State, where he is the eighth highest-ranked pick in his class at No. 55 overall and at No. 5. On the defensive. entry.
We may not see such a high rise for another defensive tackle in the state in the 2022 cycle, but we may very well be in the midst of a repeat of that show in the summer of 2020, when Derrick’s recruiting journey began on Saturday. Shepard, Archbishop Alter (Ohio) High School.
Shepard, a 6-foot-3-inch, 315-pound defensive tackle, is actually quite familiar with the story of how Hall raised his recruiting profile and gained substantial interest from universities across the country in 2019, and thinks he could be in a similar career path.
“I feel like that’s the way I’m going,” said Shepard. Eleven warriors after his one-day performance at the Elite Underclassmen Camp. “Mike and I have a very close relationship. We’ve been on the phone several times just talking about the Buckeyes. Basically he said it came from the bottom and it came straight that summer. ”
The offseason between a player’s sophomore and junior year season, and especially the camp circuit, is the greatest for the vast majority of player recruits who expect to be noticed by top tier programs.
Saturday’s Under Armor showcase was the first chance for Shepard to show what he had, and it showed good athleticism and exploded for a player of his size as the momentum begins to build for the nation’s 23rd defensive tackle. and No. 14 junior on the rise in Ohio.
“It felt really good. To make it my first soccer camp, I felt like I had the opportunity to go out there and show the coaches and players what I have, ”Shepard said. “Upon entering I was (nervous), but once we started, I was shooting from there.
“Most of the things, I knew what we were going to do, so I had about a month to prepare. I thought we were going to have some one on one, but with the coronavirus being closed. So the exercises I’ve been practicing with. ”
Shepard said that upon entering camp, he hoped to show his improved lateral agility and speed and his full game as a defensive lineman.
“I’m looking at the footwork because without the footwork you can’t rush the pin and a lot of hips and hands to take my defender off and away from the defender,” Shepard said.
State defensive tackle Derrick Shepard (right) has been receiving advice from Archbishop Alter CJ Hicks’ teammate (center) and was able to catch up with linebacker Shawn Murphy (left) at the Elite Underclassmen Camp on Saturday.
Shepard is still growing in Ohio as he is still a little green when it comes to football. In her freshman year, she didn’t play soccer due to a torn labrum, making her 2019 season the first season of high school soccer.
“This year was like a test to see where the first games were,” said Shepard. “It was a little raw and right out there feeling my way. But towards the second half of the year, I started to feel it, I started to turn around and became a dominant player. ”
That successful sophomore campaign helped him put himself on the radar even more with a handful of college programs, as he has now racked up 14 total offers, including the greats of the state of Florida, Michigan, Michigan State and Cincinnati, in addition to the interest He says he is getting from Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Arizona State.
Shepard got her first offer, from Pittsburgh, in March, and offers began to pile up, with seven in April.
“After the first one, it was like a shadow that cleared over my head because now it’s like ‘Woo, I got the first one’, but then I couldn’t loosen it,” Shepard said. “So I had to keep building from there.”
The mega deal that Shepard is still developing, of course, is the one he’s looking for from the Buckeyes. There have been progress on his way to winning that offer lately as he has been building a stronger relationship with Larry Johnson.
“We talk once or twice a week. Our relationship has been building, “said Shepard. “I like him as a coach, but especially as a person because he knows what he’s talking about on and off the field, and you will never be wrong.” I’ve also been talking to Coach (Kevin) Wilson, Coach (Tim) Hinton and Coach (Al) Washington. Those four coaches that I’ve been talking to.
As part of those conversations, Shepard has been asking Johnson what it will cost him to win an offer from the Buckeyes.
“I’ve asked those questions, and you’ve said you want to see me on campus in person because you saw me last year at the Wisconsin game,” Shepard said. “I was there with CJ (Hicks), so I was introduced to him at the time. He said everything on the evaluation sheet was being reviewed, but he said he just wanted to see me in person and see my pass rush a bit more. ”
And speaking of Hicks, Shepard’s teammate in Alter, the Buckeyes linebacker / safety pledge in 2022 has been giving him advice on how to handle the recruiting process, and has given him a push towards scarlet and gray. .
“He basically told me that if you want to be great, come be a Buckeye,” said Shepard. “Obviously, we’ve known each other since second grade, so we’ve always talked about the schools we want to go to. Since she got engaged, she’s been in my ear talking about it a lot recently. ”
Brown’s move is going well
We ran into Ohio state cornerback Jyaire Brown’s engagement of the 2022 class on Saturday, as the Cincinnati native officially moved out after his transfer from Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, and is now back. in the Buckeye state. after settling in a place near Lakota West High School.
“It went well, man. They have been treating me well, ”Brown told Once Warriors. “I have been practicing almost every day and I am just grinding. It was sweet. It feels good, man (going back to compete in Saturday’s camp). I don’t have to make a name for myself, but I do have to make a name for myself. I have to get well.
Brown is beginning to prepare for a fall soccer season that is slated to begin with practices beginning August 1, as he and his Ohio state partner Tegra Tshabola prepare for their first game of the season on August 28 against Cincinnati La Salle, which houses the Ohio state engagement. Jaylen Johnson and the former Buckeye engage Devonta Smith, who retired and joined Alabama.
“It’s going to be big, big with three commitments from the state of Ohio,” Brown said. “Even when Tay retires, it will still be a huge exaggerated game. Let’s look. We are going to beat them.
Buckeyes charging in All-American gear
It’s not a total surprise here, but Ohio State has the most engagements with the MaxPreps 2020 Preseason All-American High School team that launched on Monday.
The Buckeyes have seven members in the first and second teams (five first-team), which is more than Oregon (six total; one first team), Clemson (three total, each in the first team), Alabama (three in total; two first team) and Miami (two in total, each in the first team).
Ohio State’s top five players are:
Second team:
Other goals for Buckeye in the American team:
Top photo: Derrick Shepard
