Earlier this week I had a chance to speak toHighlandsHigh School’s Austin Sheehan. For those who haven’t kept up with his recruitment, Sheehan was the star receiver for the Bluebirds this past season where he andUKcommitment Patrick Towles formed one of the most dynamic QB/WR duos the state has ever seen on their way to an undefeated season and state championship. Austinhas been recruited byKentuckyand several other schools. His game is eerily similar to that of former Cats Dicky Lyons Jr. and Glen Holt Jr. Here’s what he had to say…
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Kyle: Your team (Highlands) just won the Kentucky 3A State Championship again this year, making it four straight years with a ring for you. Considering most kids never get a chance to play for one championship, what’s it like to have one each year of high school?
AS: “It was an unbelievable experience, you know. Like you said, not many people get the chance that we did. We had a senior talk at the end of the year and my quote (for the team) was ‘People can only dream of what we just went through, well you know what, we lived it.’ and I think that just sums up how it really was a dream and an unbelievable experience.”
Kyle: You specifically had almost 35 yards a catch this season, correct?
AS: “Yeah, it was 34.93 yards per catch, I think.”
Kyle: That’s just ridiculous
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Kyle: One of your coaches is former NFL receiver Chris Collinsworth. How has he helped you develop as a player?
AS: “Since the first day he came in, the first things he said were things you don’t even think about and since he’s been at that high level, he teaches you something new every day and every day coming in, you didn’t know what you were going to learn. One day you might learn something on route running, one day it might be catching, another day it might be blocking, and then another day it might be helping you get your pal (teammate) open or coming back to the ball. Every day was a new experience and that guy helped us out a whole lot by bringing in this thing called a JUGS gun and that actually just shot balls at you and I think we did 100 catches even before practice started and we probably did 100 more during practice. That really helped everyone’s catching. Out tight end Ian McGurn, he had stone hands and then this year I don’t think he had any dropped passes and he had like six touchdowns. He (Collinsworth) helped improve everybody.”