Signed: Kendall Sheffield

For the second consecutive recruiting cycle, Ohio State dipped into the JUCO ranks to land a highly regarded prospect at a position of need. The Buckeyes went to Texas this time, to land four-star defensive back Kendall Sheffield out of Blinn Junior College.

Perhaps no prospect in this class embodied the spirit of never giving up in recruiting quite like Sheffield. As a high school star from Missouri City (Texas), Ohio State relentlessly pursued Sheffield before ultimately losing him to Alabama. Sheffield was brought in on an official visit as a high school senior, but the Buckeyes were never quite able to gain enough traction to make him a realistic possibility in that 2015 class.

But Sheffield soured on the Alabama program after a year and headed to the Junior College ranks. Ohio State assistant Kerry Coombs picked up right where he left off with Sheffield and again was able to get the talented defensive back to make an official visit.

This time, Sheffield brought both of his parents on the official visit the weekend of the Michigan game and the Buckeyes emerged from that weekend as the favorite to land the No. 3 JUCO prospect.

Both Texas A&M and Texas remained in play for Sheffield, with the Aggies making a push in December and at one point it looked like they had even taken the lead. But Ohio State was able to hang on and land the mid-January pledge from Sheffield and in the process capping off perhaps the top defensive backs class in the 2017 cycle.

Sheffield signed his paperwork with Ohio State in January and is working on finishing up a class in-time to join the Buckeyes for spring football practice.