Four-star 2022 DT Derrick Shepard picks Cincinnati
Cincinnati continued its momentum in a 2022 class that currently ranks among the ten best recruiting classes in all of FBS football when it landed a commitment from four-star Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter defensive tackle Derrick Shepard on Friday.
“I chose the University of Cincinnati because they were my first offer back in January and really the first school to step into the picture and open things up for me,” Shepard said. “The love that they’ve shown is genuine and I feel they can help me develop and get to the next step in life.”
A total of 20 schools representing each of the Power Five Conferences offered Shepard. His father’s alma mater of Georgia Tech was in that group, but Shepard wanted to play for a Cincinnati program that is not only recruiting well, but playing well, as evidenced by their top ten ranking in the College Football Playoff.
“It is just showing they are really good coaches on and off the field,” Shepard said. “It shows that coaching staff is a great group and they help the players they get develop more and the players they get are ready to compete at a high level.”
A two-way lineman at the high school level, Shepard is going to Cincinnati to play on the defensive side of the football in either a defensive tackle or nose guard role. He plans to encourage more top prospects in the 2022 class to join him as a Bearcat over the next year until he can sign a letter of intent.
“I definitely will be trying to get some people,” Shepard said. “CJ Doggette and Tyler Gillison from Pickerington Central up here in Ohio. There’s a receiver out of Illinois, Eian Pugh, and Jonathan Thompson from (Columbus) DeSales. And, of course, my best friend CJ Hicks, because when he committed to Ohio State all I heard was ‘come be part of something great.’
"I will definitely be on him as hard as he was on me when he first committed.”
Shepard is the second four-star commitment in Cincinnati’s 2022 class joining Florida linebacker Melvin Gordon. The addition of Shepard vaults the Bearcats up to No. 6 in the class of 2022 team recruiting rankings.