To say Drew Shelton has big shoes to fill at Penn State would be a massive understatement.
The man who started at left tackle for PSU the past two seasons became one of the best in school history and earned a big NFL payday as a result.
Olu Fashanu became a consensus All-American last season and would have been a first-round pick in the 2023 Draft if he didn’t decide to stay an extra season at Penn State.
That makes what Fashanu said about Shelton at his NFL Combine presser this past March eye-opening.
“If everything goes right,” Fashanu said, “he should be a lot better than I ever was at Penn State.”
Shelton is the latest subject of All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State player.
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 306 pounds
Hometown: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Before Penn State: Drew Shelton began his college football career in 2022 after three years of lettering at Downingtown West High School.
Shelton’s play as a senior earned him an invite to the 2022 Under Armour All-American game. 247Sports, On3, Rivals and ESPN all had Shelton as a four-star recruit. 247 had Shelton as the No. 3 player in Pennsylvania from his class. On3 and ESPN also had him No. 3 in the state, with On3 ranking him the No. 7 offensive tackle prospect in the nation. Rivals ranked him fourth overall in PA.
Shelton committed to Penn State Sept. 4, 2020, choosing it over Florida, among other schools.
2022: Drew Shelton received a baptism by fire late in the season. When Fashanu went down with what ended up being a season-ending injury, Shelton stepped up and started the last five games at left tackle. He held his own, and in Penn State’s Rose Bowl win over Utah, he helped Nicholas Singleton run for an 87-yard touchdown.
Last year: It was an odd year for Shelton. In a lot of cases, when a player starts five games as a true freshman, he ends up starting the while way as a sophomore. That wasn’t the case for Shelton. Because Fashanu decided to come back at left tackle and because Penn State had a mainstay at left tackle in Caedan Wallace, Shelton played in 13 games, but only started 1.
Where he stands: With Fashanu and Wallace (Patriots) now in the NFL, there shouldn’t be anything stopping Shelton from being a full-time starter as long as his health holds up. Shelton unfortunately missed all of spring practice due to injury, but is back for fall camp. As long as he stays healthy, he’s Penn State’s guy at left tackle, and he’ll have to show how good he can be.
A quote by Shelton: Olu taught me a lot about football behind the scenes,” he said. “We’re obviously very different players, so what works for him might not necessarily work for me. He taught me a lot about preparation, like how to watch film and what to look for in a defensive lineman. That’s been very impactful for me.” — Shelton on Fashanu at Penn State Media Days in August, via Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle.
A quote about Shelton: “Drew teaches me a whole bunch of stuff,” Williams said. “He helps me with my technique, but he’ll also help me mentally. There’ll be times when I’m super tired and he’ll say, ‘You gotta keep pushing because these practices make the best players.’ I’m competing with him, but he’s also a mentor because he has a lot more knowledge than me. I’m picking his brain as much as I can.” — J’ven Williams on Shelton, via Scarcella.
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