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Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that the Penn State transfer Antonio Shelton had committed to play for the Florida Gators during the 2021 season. The defensive tackle was a three-star recruit, and although he was not heavily recruited, he’s made a place for himself in college ball as a member of the Nittany Lions.
The Gators’ defense was their obvious weakness during their recently completed campaign. To make things worse, a number of their more productive players filed for the draft, including defensive tackles Kyree Campbell and Tedarrell Slaton. Florida has been unafraid to plug holes in their roster by means of the transfer portal in recent seasons, so it’s not a huge surprise to see them target a transfer again to help out on the defensive line.
Shelton, who is listed as having a meaty 6-feet-2-inch, 327 pound build, is a pure nose tackle who functions as a run stuffer. Take a look at what Sean Fitz, a 247Sports Penn State expert, had to say about Shelton:
He is one of the strongest players that I have seen come through the program and near the top in terms of bench and strength numbers. He’s best suited for holding ups blockers and things like that. Sometimes a penetrator as a pass rusher but not his forte. He is a solid presence in the middle and vocal guy.
The Sports Illustrated report on Shelton echoed that sentiment, pointing out his ability to stand up offensive linemen and prevent them from disengaging at the line of scrimmage. It’s clear that he does his best work when he’s clogging the lanes, which makes sense considering that he’s built more like a landmark than a man.
Shelton has started 40 games over the course of his college career. In 2020 alone, he was responsible for 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Here’s one of those sacks, in which he brushes past an out-of-position offensive lineman in a savvy rush to the quaterback.
Antonio Shelton gets home and that’s Penn State ball ⚡️pic.twitter.com/CASBZey1wb
— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 20, 2020
Florida faithful can expect Shelton to make an immediate impact on the Gators’ defensive line during the 2021 season. He joins up with head coach Dan Mullen’s squad with a considerable amount of experience under his belt and plays a position where the team lacks depth. If only for those reasons, he’ll be a big factor for playing time along the defensive front. But his strength and vocal leadership certainly don’t hurt, either.
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