Zach Shackelford is comfortable being the leader of the Texas offensive line. The rising senior told Horns247 as much ahead of the team’s victory over Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day and now that he’s entering his fourth year as a starter, Shackelford is taking center stage as one of the faces of the program.

Along with the revamped role and higher profile comes attention like being viewed as a potential prospect for the 2020 NFL Draft. Shackelford hasn’t drawn a ton of pro buzz to this point in his career, but Gil Brandt wasn’t shy about putting Shackelford in a group with the top senior offensive linemen in the country.

The longtime Dallas Cowboys executive and Pro Football Hall of Fame electee who developed a lot of the evaluation tools used in modern scouting, Brandt ranked Shackelford No. 3 on his list of the top senior linemen available to be selected next spring. Brandt ranked Oregon’s Calvin Throckmorton (No. 1) and TCU’s Lucas Niang (No. 2) ahead of Shackelford while the Belton product is ranked ahead of Michigan’s Ben Bredeson (No. 4), Washington’s Trey Adams (No. 5), Auburn’s Prince Tega Wanogho Jr. (No. 6) and Oregon’s Shane Lemieux (No. 7).

Shackelford has seen action in 40 career games and has made 27 starts over his first three seasons in the program. A Freshman All-American selection in 2016, Shackelford started all 10 games in which he appeared in 2018, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press.

The biggest thing standing between Shackelford and maximizing what he can do in his final season with the Longhorns (and to raise his profile as an NFL prospect) is good health. A foot injury forced Shackelford to miss four games last season; head and ankle injuries limited him in 2017 and ankle injury that eventually required surgery hampered him in 2016.

Regarded by his teammates as one of the toughest players in the locker room, Shackelford’s presence on the field will be huge in 2019 as the Longhorns look to replace three starters along the offensive line. For his part, Shackelford is putting in plenty of work and is embracing his status.

Shackelford and Sam Ehlinger addressed donors when the athletic department held a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this month for the south end zone project and overhaul of the Moncrief Complex currently underway at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. In his address, Shackelford mentioned how much he loves working and leading with the Longhorns approaching 100 days until the 2019 season kicks off on Aug. 31 at home against Louisiana Tech.

“Sam and I love the sport of football,” Shackelford said. “There’s no other sport I’d rather play. Y’alls support just means the world. I promise you that every day we are working so hard and the culture is ingrained and we are working every day — mentally, physically, in the film room — to deliver championships to this university.

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“So, just, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much and thank you for allowing me to do what I love to do,” he added. “I love leading those guys, I love being out there working out at 5 a.m., I love the film room and I love y’all. So, thank you so much, Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it.”