NORMAN — Once upon a time, Sterling Shepard and Barry J. Sanders lit up Oklahoma Class 3A football as Heritage Hall teammates.
Then in February 2012, Shepard signed with Oklahoma, while Sanders signed with Stanford, choosing to carve out his own path rather than follow in his iconic father’s footsteps at Oklahoma State the way Shepard did with the Sooners.
Shepard became a star in Norman and is rapidly rising up NFL Draft boards. Sanders, meanwhile, never quite got the opportunities he expected at Stanford. He rushed for only 664 yards and five touchdowns in three seasons — after a redshirt year — with the Cardinal.