AUSTIN, Texas -- It’s hard for any five-star prospect to be inconspicuous these days in the age of rampant social media, but it was particularly difficult for Missouri City (Texas) Marshall cornerback Kendall Sheffield on Friday evening at Mike Meyers Stadium following his gold medal-winning efforts in the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles.
Kendall Sheffield visits the Texas Longhorns after state track victories
Have the Horns fallen behind in between visits from the five-star cover corner?
His 13.63-second time in the 110-meter hurdles was the top time in the nation this year.
The second-place finisher in both events last year, Sheffield won the first event handily and managed to out-pace the competition in the second, leaving him with two gold medals that made his presence auditory while leaving the stadium.
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The 5’11, 180-pounder spoke with SB Nation Recruiting after his victories, an interview that went down with his medals clinking as he shifted his weight.
Sheffield said that he planned on meeting with the Texas coaching staff Saturday.
“Just to talk to coach [Charlie] Strong, my whole family is coming this time and talk about the academics and things like that,” he said regarding the purpose of his visit.
It ended up being the first face-to-face meeting between Sheffield, his family and Strong, Texas’ new head coach. The consensus five-star prospect said he hadn’t talked to Strong recently, but he does keep up with defensive backs coach Chris Vaughn. The two talk roughly every two weeks, he said.
“It’s a good relationship, we always talk about football, things after football, and things like that,” Sheffield said.
Vaughn has been selling Sheffield on the positive attributes of the Texas program and had been working towards setting up the first face-to-face meeting between the Sheffields and the new staff, efforts that finally paid off over the weekend.
Despite the prevailing thought that the Texas A&M Aggies are the team to beat, Sheffield continues to maintain that all the schools in his recruitment are even and that Texas didn’t suffer as a result of the coaching change.
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“They didn’t fall behind after the old coaches left, I just wanted to wait and build a relationship with the new coaches and start back all over,” Sheffield said.
Texas fans experienced some consternation throughout February and into the start of May because Sheffield hadn’t visited Austin since the previous fall, missed both Junior Days and did not attend the Texas spring game. He said Friday night that he was focused on track throughout that time period, a focus that clearly paid off at the state meet with two resounding victories.
But despite the renewed focus on recruiting now that track season is over, Sheffield hasn’t set up any additional summer visits and isn’t sure about a return trip to Austin. He still expects to make his decision at the Under Armour All-American game in January of 2015.
