Texas leads for key 4-star OT target Javonne Shepherd

After the Heat Wave event in Austin — one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the summer for the Texas Longhorns — Houston North Forest offensive tackle Javonne Shepherd once again said that the Horns are his top team:

The 6’6, 319-pounder has been a frequent visitor on the Forty Acres recently, as he initially named Texas his leader following trip to campus on June 5.

Since then, he made it to Texas A&M over the weekend, amidst some drama over when exactly he would make it to College Station. While in The Station, which was surely lit, Texas A&M assistant coach Tim Brewster committed a possible recruiting violation by posting a picture of Shepherd with Aggies commit Kenyon Green that was later deleted:

So there’s no shortage of intrigue in the key recruiting battle between the Longhorns and the Aggies for Shepherd’s services. Another school could emerge as a contender, but right now it looks like the two old rivals are the main competitors.

After Texas A&M landed Green and two talented 2020 offensive linemen and Texas lost key center target Branson Bragg to Stanford on Friday, there’s some pressure on new offensive line coach Herb Hand to close with Shepherd.

In fact, Shepherd is arguably the top 2019 offensive line target on the board for the Horns as Hand attempts to add to a class that currently includes Tyler Johnson.

Right now, the efforts of Hand are paying off with Shepherd, who is a consensus four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 26 offensive tackle.