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Strong flips Shackelford

On3 imageby:Justin Wells•01/17/16
Zach Shackelford
Zach Shackelford. (Belton ISD)
Zach Shackelford. (courtesy of Belton ISD)

Zach Shackelford. (courtesy of Belton ISD)

BELTON — UT’s offensive line haul for the Class of 2016 just became more impressive when they landed Belton’s All-State guard/center, Zach Shackelford today.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound 3-star flipped from Kansas State and committed to Texas after his official visit to Austin this weekend. Shackelford joins an already stellar OL prospect crop a few days before he’s set to enroll and participate in Spring drills. Zach is the 4th to offensive lineman to pledge Texas joining Jean Delance, Denzel Okafor, and Tope Imade. This foursome is sure to be top position grouping in the Big 12 rankings for 2016.

Shackelford held offers from Arizona State, Cincinnati, Houston, Oklahoma State, and Purdue among others. He was also recruited by Oklahoma, Wisconsin, UCLA, and Arkansas.

Excerpt from the Recruiting Notebook:

Zach Shackelford, OL – Belton (2016) (6-foot-3, 290) (Dec.’15)
Hudl/highlights

How he fits at Texas: The nastiness on this kid’s film really wins you over with time. While he lacks the length to stay outside at tackle, Shackelford is a fun prospect for the interior OL, especially at center. He has a real knack for executing combo blocks at angles and climbing up to LBs, a key skill for a center in a zone scheme, and has an obvious love for the game that is essential at the OL’s most cerebral position. He’s a current K-State commit and the Purple Wizard has an eye for these types of kids. If someone had kept @Chris Hall in a cage in high school, beat him regularly, and kept him alive by feeding him raw meat then he’d have been Zack Shackelford. – Ian Boyd

Coach Says: Shack looks like the kind of player that Kansas State has routinely signed and utilized for years. He is tough, strong, hard-nosed, and is he is going to try to block your ass to and through the whistle. He is the type of offensive lineman that defensive lineman will absolutely hate in practice and games because of the way he plays the game. Shack more than held his own against guys like Rahssan Thornton and Kendell Jones when I took a look at his tape, and those guys are going to be taking their talents to the SEC. Particularly liked how Shack anchored down and stymied Jones’ bull rush, something I’m sure had worked on just about every other OL he faced. Shack is destined to play on the inside at the collegiate level, and if he is capable of playing center, that would be a huge flip for Texas.

How this affects Texas: Shackelford is an example of recruiting players until the end. Zach plays for Bob Shipley (Belton); advantage Texas. Zach plays a hugely important position for UT in 2016 (Center); advantage Texas. Zach is looking at Manhattan, KS or Austin, TX; advantage Texas. Zach is an early enrollee, so we’ll know how this turns out in a matter of days. In public, Zach says the right things being a Kansas State pledge, behind the scenes Zach is thinking Texas could be the spot. He’s an EE so time is of the essence. He’s taking an OV to Austin on 1/15 – 1/16th; advantage Texas. – Justin Wells

Shackelford is the 14th member of UT’s Class of 2016. He joins Jean Delance (North Mesquite), Davion Curtis (Temple), Denzel Okafor (Lewisville), Andrew Fitzgerald (Flower Mound Marcus), Malcolm Roach (Baton Rouge, LA) Obie Eboh (Southlake Carroll), Peyton Aucoin (Bother Martin, New Orleans), Collin Johnson (WR – Valley Christian (CA), Reggie Hemphill (WR – Manvel), Shane Buechele (QB – Arlington Lamar), Tope Imade (OL – Arlington Bowie), Gerald Wilbon (DL/OL – Destrehan, LA ) and DeMarco Boyd (ATH – Gilmer).

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