Shepherd ready for official visit

X'avier Shepherd is recovering well from an ankle injury that sidelined him earlier this season and he's preparing for his official visit to Utah this weekend.

The Lakewood, Calif., three-star wide receiver committed to the Utes in August so he's especially excited to get back to Utah, talk more with the coaches and players and just get a better feel for the program.

He'll be there for the Utah-Cal game this weekend.

"I can't wait," Shepherd said. "When I went up there and committed I had just a little bit of time to spend with the team.

"It was a great experience so I can't wait to be around them and talk more with my coaches and meet some more players. I'll talk to a lot of the players so it should be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it."

It has been a tough go this season for Shepherd, who missed numerous games because of an ankle injury and has been just getting back into true form.

"I'm recovering well and I just had a great game with the team," Shepherd said. "Everything else is going smoothly. I'm just trying to stay healthy and keep the team's hopes up so we can make the playoffs and make some noise.

"The first two weeks it was kind of hard. I was kind of nervous on it and I was playing a little hesitant. I was hesitating on my plants but I've been going to physical therapy three times a week and healing it and going through the recovery stage. It's not yet 100 percent but I'm getting close to it and it's much stronger. It's been a bumpy road but I'm pretty good right now."

Shepherd, rated as the No. 61 wide receiver in the 2013 class by Rivals.com and No. 57 in the California state rankings, said he's firm in his Utah pledge but is considering some other visits.

Three schools in particular are pushing the Lakewood standout to take a trip and he's strongly considering it just to get a better feel for what other programs could offer.

"I'm keeping an open mind still," Shepherd said.

"I haven't really been getting too much attention from other schools though. I know UCLA and Nebraska would still like me to come up on an official. Cal has been telling me the same thing. As of right now, nothing has been planned. I'll see which ones I do want to take."