Segina flips to The Farm
2016 Texas WR Paxton Segina's Stanford commitment was a long time in the making.
Although the Cardinal only offered Segina a scholarship on Thursday, they had actually been recruiting the Vandergrift High School standout for the better part of a year.
"They visited our school last spring," Segina said. "And obviously I saw a Stanford shirt and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, woah.' I talked to Coach Akina and ever since then he's been in contact with me and has helped me through the whole process. He finally talked me into going to one of their camps in the summer. And I did well at the camp. So ever since then they've been recruiting me, kind of on and off. And they just offered me last week, last Thursday. It all happened really slowly, but it was definitely worth it in the end, I'll tell you that."
After receiving the offer, Segina immediately proceeded to set up an official visit to The Farm. He made up his mind about his college future before the trip concluded.
"I called the Rice coaches (Friday) night and told them that I was about to commit here," Segina said. "I talked to Coach Shaw (on Saturday) and told him that I was committing, at about noon."
"He was pumped. He was thrilled. He got on the phone with my dad and told him and my dad was thrilled to death, too. It was a fun experience."
Prior to committing to the Cardinal - and prior to actually arriving in the Bay Area for his official visit - Segina received word that he had earned admission into Stanford University.
"I was on the plane, it was right before I was about to have to turn my phone off," Segina said. "Coach Akina gave me a call and told me that I was admitted. That took a huge weight off of my shoulders."
"It was very difficult," Segina said of the application process. "They're the only school in the nation that requires you to take two AP classes, get certain test scores and make certain grades that are a lot higher than every other school in the country. And also the application, you have to write five essays and answer many questions. That took a while. It took a long time. You have to do a really, really good job on that if you even want a chance. So doing all of that work, I took a tough senior schedule just for this opportunity and I didn't know if I was going to be able to get this opportunity or not, but thankfully in the end it paid off."
Prior to making his verbal pledge to Stanford, Segina had been a longtime Rice commit. Segina's father, Richard, played football for the Owls, and Segina has prioritized finding a strong academic institution throughout his recruitment.
"It was always between Rice or Stanford for me," Segina said. "I was committed to Rice until Stanford would offer. Because I see football as finding a way into a really great university."
"I always wanted to go to a really great academic university, so I kind of just said no to all the schools that weren't Rice or Stanford."
In addition to Rice and Stanford, he had offers from Air Force, North Texas and several Ivy League schools. A number of other programs showed interest, but Segina didn't reciprocate.
Segina made his choice while on his third trip to Stanford. He also visited last spring and for the Cardinal's June camp. Segina was hosted on the visit by Keller Chryst.
"(The official visit) is unbelievable," Segina said. "The place sells itself. I love all the guys. Only a couple of guys are here because I missed (Stanford's official visit) last weekend, but the guys that are here now I love and I love all of the coaches. It's hard not to fall in love with the university. The professors are so awesome. I had breakfast with a couple of them (Saturday). And also the athletics facilities are top-notch, too. It's just going to be cool playing for a top-five university, also a top-five football school."
While not as strong as his father's connection to Rice, Segina does have a few links to Stanford. One of Segina's mother's good friends attended Stanford and ran track for the Cardinal. Additionally, Segina's brother's best friend current attends Stanford.
Although Segina did enjoy a massively productive 2015 season, with 16 touchdown receptions and 925 receiving yards in his team's first nine games, the 6-foot-4 receiver's senior year was cut short due to a head injury. Segina suffered a concussion in an early November game; he was able to walk off the field under his own power, but his symptoms worsened while on the sidelines, and he was eventually transported to a hospital.
Fortunately, Segina has recovered from the frightening injury, and he has received a clean bill of health.
"I'm 100 percent fine," Segina said. "I'm cleared to play basketball - I've actually gotten a couple of games under my belt. So I'm completely 100 percent fine health-wise."