Tee Shepard envisioned himself being one of the touted prospects making a college announcement on television. What better way to let the world know where you're headed.
Despite what seemed to be the norm among top college prospects, the Fresno, Calif., native opted to go against the grain and make an early decision.
The benefiter? Notre Dame.
"I always thought I was going to be one of the players that had a big announcement and all of that, but I already had love for Notre Dame," the 6-0, 173-pound cornerback told BlueandGold.com of his decision to make an early pledge to the Irish on March 1. "When they offered I was so happy."
Shepard wasn't the type of prospect that was short of options and needed to hitch himself to a traditional powerhouse to assure a spot, either. This is a recruit that has schools like Auburn, Cal, Colorado, UCLA, USC, Washington and others lobbying for his pledge.
Regardless of the growing list of 27 offers for the standout cover corner, nothing was hitting him quite like the offer from Notre Dame did.
"I wanted to get my decision out of the way because I knew where I wanted to be and didn't want to play games," he shared. "Other schools were starting to blow me up more and it started bugging me, so I wanted to go ahead and commit. My life has changed completely after getting my decision behind me."
Shepard, who is a Future247 recruit, had Miami, Alabama and Arizona as the second-, third- and fourth- place finishers for his choice.
Even though Notre Dame had a good sense that they were in a favorable-early position, the news that Shepard was ready to shut down his recruitment and jump on board as the first commitment for 2012 was a pleasant surprise.
"(Defensive back coach Chuck Martin) told me it made his day," he recalled from his conversation with the staff that morning. "It was important to me that I was the first one because (California recruiter Mike) Denbrock told me he wanted to build the class around me."
According to Shepard's trainer Tony Perry, the future 2012 U.S. All-American averaged approximately eight tackles per game (missed four out of 12 contests due to a shoulder injury). In addition to landing a player that is clearly able to make plays, Notre Dame also fulfilled their requirement for a versatile player in the back end of the defense.
"I've seen him over the last three years and he turned into one of the most-recruited DBs in the country," national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming shared on his thoughts of Shepard. "He's already farther along than any of the DBs they signed in 2011. He can play cornerback or safety for Notre Dame.
"He has great instincts and a great football sense. He's a good kid and the coaches being able to land a kid like him early without even visiting campus shows the power of Notre Dame."
Shepard is slated to take that first trip to South Bend for the Blue-Gold game on April 16 and he'll be accompanied by Perry. Regardless of the talk of Notre Dame's first pledge wanting to see other schools, his trainer doesn't feel that will be the case after he gets to take in what the Irish has to offer during his visit.
Judging by Shepard thoughts on his trainer, that could turn out to be the case.
"I wouldn't be in the situation that I'm in without Coach Perry's help," he said. "I'll always be grateful for what he's done for me."
