Area recruits make it official
After visiting A&M, Georgia, Alabama last month, Shepherd sticks with UT
Those who fancy February as the more anticlimactic of the two football signing periods aren’t surprised where Javonne Shepherd is taking his talents.
The North Forest offensive tackle signed with Texas on Wednesday. He never decommitted from the Longhorns since pledging in July, but he didn’t sign during December’s early period either, leaving the door cracked open for a flip.
That notion gained more steam in January when he mixed in official visits to Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama along with a trip to Austin.
Each of those hats showed up on Shepherd’s table Wednesday at Delmar Fieldhouse where HISD’s athletes had their signing ceremonies.
But no swerve was in sight. Ask Shepherd and he’ll say that extra month to make sure Austin was where he wanted to be was worth it, even if it stirred a few fires among anxious fan bases.
“It’s drama,” Shepherd said. “It’s recruiting. So I didn’t really pay no mind to it.”
Shepherd said he called Texas coach Tom Herman around 5 a.m. Wednesday to let him know to expect a 6-6, 327-pounder on campus soon.
December’s new signing period — in its second year — now packs much of the action February used to hold. There always will be a few recruits who wait until February rolls around, so the regular period won’t ever lack some excitement.
But there will be room for what Shepherd did, too, staying committed but making sure not to waste January visits.
Westfield defensive tackle Keondre Coburn took a similar approach last year, also never decommitting from Texas but opting not to sign in December. He took an official visit to Miami in between before eventually signing with the Longhorns.
Think upside when it comes to Shepherd, whose frame is as impressive as the athletic ability it carries for an offensive tackle.
“They wanted him really bad, but it’s a good place for him,” said North Forest coach Clifton Terrell, whose Class 4A program has harbored a few notable name in recruiting circles. “They’re going to take care of him out there.”
Welcome back, Carter
They wouldn’t stop asking AJ Carter about the catch in Logan, Utah. No one has really. The North Shore receiver caught the game-winning touchdown as time expired to propel the Mustangs past Duncanville 41-36 for the Class 6A Division I title in December.
Carter signed with Utah State on Wednesday. Carter is part of a North Shore signing day class that matches the kind of season the program had. North Shore will have 17 players at the next level from this senior class, and that includes a few late commitments in Dorian Hewett (Southern California) and Keeyon Stewart (TCU).
Carter’s road up to Wednesday is an interesting one full of moving.
He started at Hightower, only momentarily playing football there before moving to Sterling and Nimitz where he exclusively played baseball.
He didn’t jump back into football until his junior year at North Shore. Two years later, he’s the program’s folk hero and going on to play Division I football.
Carter said the state championship game increased his profile — he received an offer from Southern Mississippi a few hours after the game.
But Wednesday was about the Mustangs’ senior class
“That was one of our biggest goals,” Carter said. “Us younger guys, we all wanted to play in college. We all wanted to go to college. We all see each other and look at each other like ‘We did it.’ It’s great to see all the smiles from our principals and our teachers and everybody that’s supporting us. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Matocha, Miami a fit
Dan Enos and Peyton Matocha had something in common during Matocha’s official visit in January.
They were both still getting used to the facilities.
Enos was just hired as Miami’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and remembered Matocha from a camp when he served the same role at Arkansas from 2015-17.
Enos checked back in with the St. Thomas quarterback, offering him after the season. Matocha loved the fit and signed with the Hurricanes on Wednesday.
Houston’s prep quarterback picture has been led by Grant Gunnell at rival St. Pius X and talented underclassmen like Fort Bend Marshall’s Malik Hornsby and North Shore’s Dematrius Davis.
Matocha might have gotten lost in the mix to those who didn’t see him enough.
But try to find a record he doesn’t own at St. Thomas, including the 3,692 passing yards and 35 touchdowns in 2018.
And St. Thomas beat St. Pius this year to win TAPPS Division I District 3.
“I couldn’t say anything without the help of my teammates,” Matocha said. “All the work that they’ve done, our brilliant coaching staff and all the goals they instilled in us at the start of the season. I’ve been here four years, and we’ve had a lot of ups and downs. But to finish the way we did, beating our rival St. Pius in one of the biggest games I’ve ever been a apart of, it was kind of like a fairy-tale ending.”