You’ve all seen the clip by now.
It was Penn State-Michigan.
It was the White Out.
It was so loud that Michigan had to take a timeout on the first play of the game as Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba” blasted through the Beaver Stadium speakers.
One video of the moment has 2.3 million views on YouTube.
Another has 3.1 million.
The moment became so iconic that “Mo Bamba” is still a Beaver Stadium staple more than six years later, and sometimes, teams playing Penn State blast the song during their practices to help prepare for the environment.
Among those in attendance for the “Mo Bamba Game” was a young D’Antae Sheffey, who was years away from becoming a star at State College Area High School.
Plenty of players from State High have gone on to play for the Nittany Lions, the most prominent of which is Larry Johnson, who became one of the greatest running backs in Penn State history.
But it didn’t look like Sheffey would become one of them.
Despite putting up absurd numbers: 1,725 yards and 22 touchdowns as a freshman, 1,613 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior, Sheffey had never been offered by Penn State.
“I was set to graduate early, and go to Syracuse and all of that,” Sheffy told Nittany Sports Now after his commitment, days before he began taking classes at Penn State.
Then, in late November, Sheffy de-committed from Syracuse, thus reopening his recruitment.
Penn State didn’t offer Sheffey right away, but on the second day of the New Year, it happened.
A week after that, Sheffey decided to stay home and go from being a Little Lion to a Nittany Lion.
“Getting to meet the new staff, all of that, going on my official, meeting Coach (Matt) Campbell, it really made my decision real easy,” Sheffey said.
NEVER LOOKING BACK
1,700 yards as a true freshman is impressive, but it’s even more remarkable considering Sheffey didn’t even begin the season as the starting tailback.
In the second game of the season, the tailback playing ahead of Sheffey fumbled, and Sheffey got his shot.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Like Lou Gehrig with the 1925 Yankees, he never looked back.
So what does Sheffey do well that made him such a force in high school football for four years?
“I think I have a little bit of everything,” Sheffey said, “but what I do well is definitely my vision and my patience. I feel like when I really need to hit the hole and go, I can definitely do that, and then when I need to be really patient, laid back and wait for the hole to open up, I can do that. Seeing the next level cuts before they are even there, setting up defenders and all that, I think I’m good with all that.”
When asked which runners he admires, the former State College Little Lion and future Penn State Nittany Lion named the greatest Detroit Lion of all-time, Barry Sanders, before anyone else.
“Just his elusiveness,” Sheffey said. “His elusiveness is something I really want to get my game to and be able to just work in space like that and have the free will and the tendencies to do what he does.”
“ALL THE GOOD TRAITS YOU WOULD WANT’
When Sheffey committed to Syracuse, James Franklin was Penn State’s head coach.
When he de-committed from Syracuse, Penn State didn’t have a full-time head coach, with Franklin having been fired and his replacement still more than two weeks away from being named.
As it turned out, that replacement was Matt Campbell.
Campbell impressed Sheffey by coming across as somebody who could shift his demeanor to suit the situation.
“He’s a guy,” Sheffey said. “He’s definitely a guy. He’s real supportive. He has all the good traits you would want in a head coach for sure. He can get intense when he needs to get intense. He can be laid back. He’s a guy who will really just lead you on the right path. He’s a guy who has a lot of integrity. He’s a guy who will care for you for sure, him and that coaching staff, they will care for you for sure, and they’re guys who will just make you better every day as a person and as a football player.“
Another coach who played a role in Sheffey’s recruitment was special teams coach Justin Lustig, whose son, Hank, was teammates with Sheffey at State High.
What makes Sheffey different from Larry Johnson, Keaton Ellis and other State College residents who became Nittany Lions is that he gets to be part of a new coach’s first recruiting class, and that’s not something that’s lost on Sheffey.
“It definitely means the world to me,” he said, “I’m forever grateful for the opportunity that (Campbell) and the whole coaching staff gave me. I’m just going to put my head down, work hard, and hopefully, I mean.. Hometown hero. Stuff like that. I love that.”
MESSAGE TO NITTANY NATION
Sheffey has a simple message for Penn State fans.
“It’s definitely coming,” he said. “The 2026 season is going to be here for sure. So just be ready, because we’ll definitely shock the world.”
