2022 Defensive Tackle Derrick Shepard Elated By Michigan Offer

Recently, Michigan extended an offer to 2022 defensive tackle Derrick Shepard, who trains with a trio of players that also hold U-M offers. This group, which includes Markus Allen, Rod Moore and C.J. Hicks, was set to visit Michigan last month but had to postpone the trip.

Derrick Shepard / submitted

After picking up a Michigan offer on Tuesday morning, Dayton (Ohio) Archbishop Alter three-star defensive tackle Derrick Shepard is a player to keep a close on eye in the 2022 class moving forward.

U-M defensive line coach Shaun Nua was one to deliver the news to Shepard, and the 6-3, 315-pound prospect caused a commotion with his reaction.

“My dad thought something was going on in the house because I was screaming so much,” Shepard told Wolverine Digest. “I was pretty excited. It pushed me even beyond the limits of being motivated.”

Recently, Shepard had been hearing from Nua over the past few weeks, and he calls their growing-relationship “real strong.”

“He’s an energetic guy who knows what he’s talking about when it comes down to life on and off the field,” Shepard said.

Nua has worked to sell Shepard on the U-M program, though he is quite familiar with the Wolverines already as an Ohio native.

“I like how competitive they are and how they compete at a high level every year,” Shepard said. “They’ve been nationally ranked for I don’t know how long. The coaching staff is real nice. Also in the academic department, they have what I want to do, which is going into Business Management.”

At this point, Shepard has a lot of interest in Michigan and was actually slated to take a visit to Ann Arbor last month with a group of players that are also high on the Wolverines’ board.

“I was going to go to Michigan the weekend that the quarantine stuff started,” Shepard said. “Me, C.J. Hicks, Rod Moore and Marcus Allen, we were supposed to come up there for a visit, but because of the corona stuff we got a call saying it was cancelled.”

Hicks, who is listed as a four-star athlete in the 2022 class, is one of Shepard’s teammates. Moore and Allen are 2021 three-star prospects that play at nearby Northmont High School. All four players hold Michigan offers, and U-M has been trending recently among the group.

“Me and C.J., we’ve known each other since first grade, and I’ve known Marcus and Rod the past few years,” Shepard said. “We all live close to each other, so we all work out together almost every day. That’s where I met Marcus and Rod at.”

The aforementioned March visit to Michigan was set to be Shepard’s first time on campus, but he is now looking to make that visit once the NCAA gives the go-ahead. Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee and Iowa are schools that Shepard would like to see in the near future.

Currently, Shepard holds other offers from Pitt, Cincinnati and Toledo, and other schools are expected to join that list as the sophomore defensive lineman works to round out his game.

“Right now, I would say I’m more of a run stopper because I play nose guard, so I’m right in the middle,” Shepard said. “I kind of take up the whole middle of the field, so teams can’t run up the middle. My ability to get off the ball and control my man and then get down the line and make a play [is a strength].”

Now, Shepard is working on staying in shape during the quarantine and has allocated a lot of time to his studies as well, personifying the image of a true student athlete.

The grouping of Markus Allen, Rod Moore, C.J. Hicks and now Derrick Shepard look to be big targets on U-M’s board. Do you think the Wolverines can pull these prospects out of Ohio? Let us know!