Just one day after Ohio State backup quarterback Cardale Jones torched Alabama's defense for 42 points and 243 yards through the air in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Crimson Tide landed a commitment from five-star cornerback Kendall Sheffield. The idea was to team him up with fellow five-star pledge Minkah Fitzpatrick and make sure those results never happened again.
Except Sheffield never played a down at Alabama.
He was redshirted during his freshman season, which ended with a national championship, but was nowhere to be found on the two-deep entering fall camp. Rather than be forced to sit out a year had he opted to transfer to another Football Bowl Subdivison program, Sheffield instead enrolled a Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, where he recorded 31 tackles, 11 pass breakups, two interceptions and two forced fumbles for the Buccaneers last season.
Upon completion of his associate's degree, Sheffield was free to enroll at the college of his choice with three years of eligibility remaining, and he was once again one of the most highly-coveted prospects in the country, with programs such as Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU and USC vying for his services.
The Buckeyes offered him a scholarship in November 2013, and were one of the five finalist in his initial recruitment. He visited campus for the first time with his family the game against Cincinnati the following season, but it was his trip to Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl that sealed the deal for Alabama.
“I FELT LIKE WE WERE REALLY CLOSE TO GETTING [SHEFFIELD] THE FIRST TIME, AND I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT WE DIDN't.”– OHIO STATE DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH KERRY COOMBS
“I felt like we were really close to getting him the first time, and I was very disappointed that we didn't,” defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs said during his final media availability of the spring. “[We] worked really hard on it. Really liked him. Really liked his family. He'd been here for a visit. All the things that normally lead us to getting a kid. When he decided to go somewhere else, it was hard for us.”
Most prognosticators believed Sheffield, a Missouri City, Texas, native, would stay close to home this time around. And that, plus his reported desire to run track in college, had things trending toward the Aggies.
In the end, though, it was the previously established relationship Sheffield had with the staff that gave Ohio State a leg up in his recruitment the second time around.
“As soon as I found out that he was becoming available again, I reached out immediately — because that was somebody that I knew had the right skill set for what we do here — and began the process of recruiting him at Blinn right away,” Coombs said. “We recruited him really hard, and thankfully he decided to become a Buckeye.”
Sheffield took an under-the-radar visit for the double-overtime win over Michigan last fall, which was followed up by an in-home visit from Coombs and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer just three days later. There, the coaches undoubtedly shared their recent history of putting defensive backs into the National Football League, as well as the likelihood of having three more drafted in the first round later this week.
“I think it was an advantage to us the second time around because I think the things that he and I had talked about the first time had come to fruition, and I think that that's powerful recruiting when you tell someone something's going to happen and it does,” Coombs said. “It was an accurate portrayal of what happens in the corner room, and I think he was excited to have the opportunity to revisit it.”
Sheffield committed to Ohio State in January, becoming only the third junior college prospect to sign with the Buckeyes under Meyer. His pledge capped what was an already impressive defensive backs haul that included five-star corners Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade, and all three enrolled in time for spring practices.
With starting cornerbacks Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore off to the NFL, there's a great chance Sheffield competes for one of their roles this fall. He's two years removed from high school, which he's both mentally and physically ahead of the other incoming freshman, so it'll seemingly only be a matter of getting adjusted to the playbook.
“I don't think everyone understands he took 24 credit hours in a semester at Blinn Junior College to be able to be here, to be able to compete in March and be here for spring ball,” Coombs said. “His work ethic is outstanding. The thing that they said at Blinn — which I've found it to be exactly true — is that he's the first guy out there, he's going to work, he's stretching and he's preparing like a professional. That's what I see. I'm really excited to have him in the room and a part of our program.”
