Earlier in the year Nate Sheppard was on the West Coast taking part in a passing tournament with his club team. The three-star running back from Louisiana was taken aback by the rainy weather.

He expected to see some sunshine while in California, and it wasn't the best show the state could have put on to influence him to make it his future home.

However, the Mandeville High School star decided to give it another shot by taking an official visit to Cal over the weekend.

The Bears have been involved since around the time he was last in the state for that event after offering him in late February. Cal running backs coach Aristotle Thompson has been at the forefront of the team's pursuit of Sheppard, and now the Bears are one of the teams in focus as he works toward a decision.

He visited Georgia Tech earlier in the spring while Duke was able to get him on campus a few weeks ago for an official visit, and he'll now close out the stretch with a trip to Northwestern.

Getting out to Berkeley was a big part of the puzzle, however, and it was a positive experience for Sheppard.