Legacy defender makes commitment to Boise State football

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015 | 7:15 p.m.

When a high school recruit cancels a college recruiting visit, it usually means one thing: He’s no longer interested in the program.

But Derriyon Shaw, a 6 foot 4, 225-pound senior defensive end from Legacy High in North Las Vegas, had a good reason for delaying his trip to Boise State in early October. The official visit only covers travel expenses for the athlete, not his family, and Shaw wanted to make sure his mother could be on the trip.

With airline tickets to Boise that weekend too pricey, Shaw rescheduled for last weekend. Turns out, mother and son liked what they saw.

Shaw, a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, verbally committed to the Broncos today, picking the Mountain West school over nearly double-digit offers. He visited UNR in September and was scheduled to check out Washington State in the first week of December.

Boise State coaches had no problems with Shaw rescheduling his trip.

“They wanted her to be on the trip,” Shaw said. “That’s the overall feel (in Boise). It’s a family atmosphere with the players and the coaches. That community is wonderful. They stand behind the team.”

Shaw moved to Legacy last spring from Georgia, introducing the long-armed pass rusher to a new region of college recruiters. As word started to spread of his arrival, he grabbed offers from the likes of UNLV, Arizona State and Wyoming.

“The move here was a good opportunity and good chance for me to get looked at so schools like Boise could see me,” he said.

Through the initial six games of the season, Shaw had a team-best 32 tackles and six sacks. In 2014 at Lanier High in Sugar Hill, Ga., he finished with 61 tackles, 11 sacks, nine quarterback hurries and three pass deflections.

Verbal commitments are nonbinding until national signing day in early February, meaning Shaw can still be recruited and make visits to other schools.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21