Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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tor," said Tony Perry, a local coach who has created an assembly line of Division I cornerbacks in Fresno that includes former NFL player Ricky Manning, former Oregon star Cliff Harris and many more currently playing in college. Perry started showing Shepard the ropes when the latter was in fourth grade. Perry coaches at Central East High School, but has worked with several of the area's best defensive backs in his free time for the past 23 years. He said it took him less than a week to see that the 10-year-old Shepard had the potential to be another big- time player. Shepard stayed close for the next eight years and learned the position while competing against top prospects much older than he was. By the time Shepard was a junior in FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE DB TEE SHEPARD all player in the class of 2012 by Scout.com … Rated as nation's No. 3 cornerback, the No. 4 player in California/Hawaii/Nevada and the No. 22 overall prospect nationally by SuperPrep … Identified as the No. 3 cornerback and No. 36 overall prospect nationally by MaxPreps.com and Tom Lemming … Ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 4 cornerback in the land, the No. 13 recruit in California and the No. 76 overall player in the nation by Rivals.com … Given a four-star ranking and considered the fifth-best cornerback in the country, eighth-best player in California and 50th-best prospect in the land by 247Sports … Listed No 9 at his position, No. 10 in California, No. 14 in the West region and No. 90 overall nationally by ESPNU. Statistics: Did not play his senior season because of California transfer rules … Made 10 career inter- in 4.39 seconds … Has a vertical leap of 30.6 inches … One of three early enrollees … His cousin, Deontay Greenberry, was expected to join him in South Bend, but changed his mind and signed with Houston. Rankings: Tabbed as a five-star recruit, the country's third-best cornerback and the 39th-best over- 6-0 ·173 · Washington Union H.S. · Fresno, Calif. Notable: Born on March 18, 1993 … Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds and the shuttle agility run ceptions at Central East High School before transferring to Washington Union … Also missed large parts of his junior season with an injury. Honors: Named to the Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 list as one of the 100 best players in 13 high school he knew he was ready for the college game. He wanted to enroll early at Notre Dame, but Central East didn't allow students to graduate af- ter the fall semester. He decided to transfer to Washington Union, where he spent the first year and a half of his high school career. Officials from California's high school sports' gov- erning body thought Shepard had ulterior motives — like playing on the same team as his cousin, Green- berry — and would not allow him to compete in football while finishing his high school degree. Shepard transferred anyway. He worked out with Perry on almost a daily basis and was able to practice with the Washington Union team for a few weeks. Union's coach, Jeff Frei- tas, eventually put a stop to that be- cause Shepard was hitting too hard. He didn't want any of his players getting hurt in practice. "It was a tough situation. I felt bad for him," Freitas said. "It's a shame because he was truly doing things for the right reason, but it turned out pretty bad for him." Shepard has no regrets. His father two interceptions for a total of 85 yards and one touchdown … The first player to commit to playing in the inaugural Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Phoenix held on Jan. 3. Brian Kelly's Comments: "He's always western U.S. states. All-Star Games And Camps: Played in the inaugural California State All-Star Game and returned wanted to be at Notre Dame. He knew that coming here would set him up for the rest of his life. It was great to see him again this morning with a smile on his face, excited about being here at Notre Dame. We believe he is the best cornerback in the country. I know that he's excited about the challenge of coming in here now and getting an opportunity to compete as a freshman." Washington Union Head Coach Jeff Freitas' Comments: "He's a quiet kid that doesn't say a whole lot. He likes to just earn his respect on the field, but he's someone who is really well liked by his teammates. He's definitely one of the best I've had in the my 14 years of coaching and one of the best we've had in this area." Tom Lemming Of Prep Football Report: "I've watched Shepard blossom over the past three years into an elite college pros- pect. In 2010, he played both cornerback and free safety and could play either position in college. Confident and athletic, he has unusual timing. He rarely gets beat deep and has the size and aggressiveness to come up and stop the run." Recruitment: Became Notre Dame's first commit of the 2012 class on March 2, 2011 … Made official Shepard was unable to play during his senior season because of transfer rules, but is still considered to be a four-star recruit, the nation's No. 5 cornerback and the No. 50 overall player in the land by 247Sports. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS said he's using the extra time at Notre Dame to get adjusted to school and overcome an early bout of home- sickness before football practice gets started. By the time Greenberry called his cousin Jan. 31 to let him know he would sign a letter of intent to play at Houston the following morning, Shepard was already feeling at home in South Bend. Greenberry made sure of that himself two weeks earlier. ✦ www.BLUEANDGOLD.com visits to Arizona State and USC … Strongly considered flipping to USC before enrolling at Notre Dame Jan. 14 … Recruited by Irish assistant Mike Denbrock. Favorite Part Of Notre Dame Visit: "When I first to got to the stadium and walked down the tunnel." Why He Chose Notre Dame: "I felt comfortable with the school and all that it offered. Coach Denbrock and I formed a great relationship that helped me get comfortable. I also liked the opportunity to come in and compete for playing time as a freshman." Scouting Report: Type of player that loves playing physically and delivering a stick on the ball carrier … Uses good form in his backpedal by staying in a low, athletic position, shows great hip flexibility by turning in both directions and breaks on the ball extremely quickly … Recovers well and puts himself in position to make plays … Besides cover skills, also can make plays with the ball in his hands and bring it back for a pick-six … Plays smart in zone coverage and doesn't allow much space to be created in man-to-man coverage. 2012 Projection: Is one of the top lockdown cornerbacks in the country, but he missed his senior season … A spring of football at Notre Dame could position him to be in play for an early contribution. MARCH 2012 43