AU alum 2 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Went to Ole Miss. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55924-dt-shackleford/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Tiger 4,261 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Went to Ole Miss. Auburn Undercover says in the end Ole Miss was his only firm offer. Could that be true? Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55924-dt-shackleford/#findComment-578195 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickinwang 0 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 im very late on this, but a GREAT article about a GREAT kid. Off-field commitments match linebacker's talentSunday, January 25, 2009 By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff paul.gattis@htimes.com Austin's Shackelford considering Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss DECATUR - This is not about a football star. This is about a life star. This is about Austin High senior D.T. Shackelford, whose favorite off-the-field activity is working with children, advising them and telling them about Jesus. This is about an honor student who painfully recalled coming up one point short of making straight A's last semester. This is about a highly-recruited linebacker who last month was MVP of the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game in Mobile. This is about a 17-year-old whose presence continues to touch Austin football coach David Norwood. "Both of my parents have passed in the last seven months," Norwood said. "Both of my parents specifically asked for him to be a pallbearer." This week, when Shackelford plans to announce his college destination, some SEC school is going to get more than just a football player. But which school? Though Shackelford committed to Tennessee in August, the dismissal of coach Phillip Fulmer has him looking around. The result is a three-way tug-of-war for Shackelford between Tennessee, Ole Miss and Auburn. How intense is this recruiting battle? Last Thursday morning, Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof and administrator Phillip Lolley were at Austin visiting with Shackelford. Tennessee assistants Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron were expected that afternoon. In between, Shackelford received a call from Ole Miss and learned that coach Houston Nutt may be planning a visit. Shackelford made his official visit to Tennessee this weekend, and now he faces a decision. "I'm ready for this to be over," he said. But enough about football. "I have a passion for working with little kids," Shackelford said. "Since the ninth grade, I've been going to Boys and Girls Club working with kids. That's a passion I have. It gives me a joy every summer. "I actually go up there sometimes during the school year and visit them every once in a while." It started when Shackelford was 14 with the motivation of earning some spending money. "But I found out I got more than I bargained for," he said. "I ended up loving the kids. I was like, 'Man, I like this.' "Picking them up, shooting basketball with them, they're running after me. I'm enjoying it. This is something I like." It grew into Shackelford becoming involved with the Neighborhood Christian Center, a Memphis-based organization whose purpose is to spread the gospel. It reaches out to children by producing skits and stage plays and even a little dancing. "I can dance a little bit," Shackelford said with a grin. Is there anything he can't do? "It's a big thing," Shackelford said of the NCC. "We try to give them a skit or whatever to show them about Jesus Christ and to believe in Jesus Christ. "The stuff I'm experiencing now, it wouldn't have happened without God. We just try to tell them about Jesus." So what's more impressive: For the star high school football player to spend his summer doing this or to have an appreciation for the importance of what he's doing? "Most of them are little," Shackelford said. "Their heads are getting infecting with certain stuff. (Some of them) don't know (about Jesus), having bad family backgrounds. "For me to be able to implement certain stuff in their life, I feel like it was destined for me to do that." It's about time for Shackelford to continue his day. First, visiting with the Auburn coaches, then with a reporter and then lunch at a local restaurant for honor students at Austin. "My wife always says he's got an 80-year-old spirit," Norwood said. "A lot of the things kids his age enjoy, he doesn't necessarily enjoy. And he does a lot of things those kids don't necessarily do." Like agonize over that 89 he got last semester in Chemistry II, which denied him making straight A's. And when Shackelford offers a "Thanks a lot" to his teacher, David White, he actually means it. "The teacher I've got for it, he's a real cool person," Shackelford said. "He's going to make you earn whatever you get. I'll thank him later on in the future." Yes, there is the future. When asked about the recruiting process, Shackelford began by saying what an honor it was for him just to be recruited. And he closed with what he's dreading. "One of the things that's going to be hard is me making the phone call saying I won't be able to play for your program," Shackelford said. "All the schools showed great hospitality." my dad raves about this kid. hard not to pull for kids like that, no matter who they play for. link Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55924-dt-shackleford/#findComment-581088 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUman43 5 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Good article and worthy to note that Coach Norwood passed away last month as well. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55924-dt-shackleford/#findComment-581131 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickinwang 0 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Good article and worthy to note that Coach Norwood passed away last month as well. must be a different coach norwood. i talked to austin's coach norwood last week. Link to comment https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55924-dt-shackleford/#findComment-581157 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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