Alabama already had a strong recruiting class put together going into the weekend's Under Armour All-American Game, but they added two more top commits in Texas CB Kendall Sheffield and Birmingham four-star DT Da'Ron Payne.
While Payne had been strongly linked to Alabama for some time, Sheffield's commitment came as more of a surprise - while the Crimson Tide were among the frontrunners, Texas A&M had been very confident of securing his signature. 69% of 247 Sports' forecasters had Sheffield going to the Aggies, compared to just 28% of their Crystal Ball forecasters who had him coming to Alabama.
Sheffield is the #3 corner in the Class of 2015 and the #18 overall player in the class, according to 247 Sports. An athletic standout at more than just football, Sheffield will also represent Alabama's Track team - he won Texas state titles in the 110 & 300 meter hurdles. That opportunity - along with Sheffield's relationship with Nick Saban - helped him settle on Alabama over A&M, LSU, and a host of other interested schools.
Sheffield joins a crowded, extremely talented group of cornerbacks that already includes 2014 five-star Tony Brown (the #2 overall CB in that class), 2014 five-star Marlon Humphrey (the #3 overall CB in that class), and fellow incoming freshman Minkah Fitzpatrick (five-stars, #5 overall CB in the class of 2015). While Sheffield is unlikely to see significant playing time right away, his combination of speed, agility and vision will make him a valuable piece for the Alabama secondary going forward.
Don't expect to see Sheffield starting until 2016 at the absolute earliest - as talented as he is, there's just too much depth and experience ahead of him for him to start until a few players graduate. With Alabama's player rotations and tendency to blow out opponents, though, he'll have plenty of chances to see the field and impress in the meantime.
More Alabama football news & rumors | Download the game-changing app for iPhone, now with live scores!
Back to the Alabama Crimson Tide Newsfeed