2008 Texas OT picks up verbal offer
Klein's J.B. Shugarts is the next dominant offensive lineman in the state of Texas. One school has recognized the sophomore's talent and saw enough to verbally offer during an unofficial visit.
Yes, Shugarts (6-foot-6, 280 pounds) is only a sophomore and Texas A&M verbally offered him over their junior day event weeks ago.
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"We weren't their 10 minutes before an assistant coach asked if we wanted to go up to see Coach (Dennis) Franchione," Shugarts said. "We went up and really didn't know why. His office was huge and we sat down. Coach Fran told me he wanted me to be an Aggie and made a verbal offer.
"I was shocked. I was kind of shocked to be invited to the junior day because I'm only a sophomore. He told me I was the only the second lineman he'd ever verbally offered as a sophomore. I was very impressed with their future facilities and have them on my list of favorites."
Shugarts was a first-team, all-district selection as sophomore and gained valuable experience on and off the field from teammate Chris Stewart – who is a Notre Dame commit.
"I'm ready to go through the recruiting process," Shugarts said. "I kind of went through it with Chris and saw what happened. I'm excited."
As a freshman, Shugarts took in several one-day college camps and has a strong signal on the recruiting radar. His current favorites include Texas, Miami, Michigan, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Florida, West Virginia and Auburn.
"Playing early is important, but I want to go to a program that is going to be dominant and compete for a national championship every year," he said.
Shugarts was the first Klein Bearcat to make varsity as a freshman in basketball to boot. He plans on playing basketball next season, but will wait in see if he plans to play as a senior.
"I don't know if I'll play AAU either, because I want to concentrate on going to camps during the summer," he said.
It's obvious he'll have several more options but unfortunately he'll have to wait a couple of years to step on the college of his choice as a player.