Tag: Drew Shelton

James Franklin updates status of OL Drew Shelton for spring practices

One of Penn State’s key offensive linemen for 2024 is currently not available for spring football practices, according to James Franklin.

With three starters off to pursue their NFL dreams, Penn State’s offensive line was going to be in a bit of a spotlight this spring. As Penn State opened spring football practices this week, head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] offered an update on one potential starter for the 2024 season during his spring press conference.

[autotag]Drew Shelton[/autotag], entering his junior season with the Nittany Lions, was spotted this winter wearing a sling. When asked about his availability, Franklin confirmed Shelton is recovering from an offseason surgery and suggested his availability for the spring is unlikely.

“Drew did have surgery at the end of the season. It was one of those surgeries that he could get through the season with, but it probably made the most sense to get it done as soon as the season ended,” Franklin said during his spring press conference this week.

“Some guys decide to kind of play through those things for a number of years,” Franklin continued. “Some guys decide to get them done right away, and some guys decide to wait until right after the season. He decided to wait until right after the season.

Shelton is coming off a sophomore season that saw the Downignton West product appear in eight games on offense and special teams. As a true freshman in 2022, Shelton got a chance to appear in seven games, including five starts at left tackle in place of an injured Olu Fashanu.

“Right now, obviously we wish we had him, but I think long-term it will be in his best interest and our best interest as well, but we have a number of guys there that we feel good about,” Franklin said.

Penn State will wrap up spring football practices with the annual Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 13.

Quotes provided by Penn State athletics.

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2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 66 Drew Shelton

Penn State’s offensive line is stacked in 2023, and Drew Shelton could be one of the possible starters.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Continuing this effort is a look at a potential starter on the offensive line, Drew Shelton. After filling in for the injured Olu Fashanu in the last month of the 2022 season, Shelton could be lining up for a possible starting job on the opposite end of the line this fall for the Nittany Lions. Here is a snapshot look at the young offensive tackle.

Penn State’s youth movement starts November with a bang

Penn State has a shot of going 10-2 while letting its youth movement rise to the occasion.

The final month of the regular season is shaping up to be a big one for the future of Penn State football. While still playing for the possibility of a 10-2 season that can wiggle Penn State into position for a spot in a New Years Six bowl game, the more important thing to keep on your radar ins the development of some of Penn State’s key members in the Class of 2022 and 2021 as they continue to get their opportunities.

If it wasn’t already clear enough, Penn State’s running game is now firmly in the hands of its talented freshmen [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag]. Singleton leads the team in rushing with 679 yards and Allen is second with 558 yards, and each has a team-high eight rushing touchdowns. The only other player with a rushing touchdown this season is sixth-year quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag].

Freshman linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, is third on the team in total tackles and sacks to show why the future looks so bright for him in the signature No. 11 jersey. Defensive end [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag] has the team-lead for sacks this season and he came up with his first career interception in Penn State’s road win at Indiana in Week 10.

And then, of course, there is the quarterback. [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] got about a quarter and a half to really run the offense against the Hoosiers, but he wasn’t there to simply run off the clock as much as possible. Allar was given the chance to read defenses, make adjustments where needed, and throw the football to move the chains and put points on the board. And few would argue he handled things very well.

But not to be overlooked was the performance of freshman offensive lineman [autotag]Drew Shelton[/autotag]. Without Olu Fashanue available for the road trip to Bloomington, Shelton was put to the task of protecting Clifford (and later Allar), and he shined in the role.

“Not only did he play, he played well,” head coach James Franklin said after the road win when asked about Shelton’s performance according to Frank Bodani of the York Daily Record.

Penn State is in a fortunate position with the schedule to be able to get good playing time for their young players who will be the core of the team in 2023 and beyond. The schedule is favorable in that the remaining opponents — Maryland, Michigan State, and Rutgers — should all be underdogs against Penn State, and two of the games will be played at home, and the Spartans and Scarlet Knights are team playing below .500.

To be able to put together a clean November while getting more development out of the future stars and leaders of the team is a great spot for Penn Stater to be in for the long-term vision while still being able to accomplish some short-term goals as well.

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2022 Penn State football: Nittany Lions’ offensive line preview

Here’s a look at the offensive line depth for Penn State heading into the 2022 season.

Penn State has lost a couple of more veteran players on the offensive line leaving them with a more young and promising group. With just three seniors listed on the roster, a lot of young talent is going to be asked to grow up very quickly.

[autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu,[/autotag] who will be protecting the blindside of [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], has a chance to become a keystone on this offensive line. The Maryland native has the size and speed at the tackle spot to really turn into something special this coming season.

Outside of Fashanu, there are a bunch of guys looking to earn their keep. Getting to know the vast depth of names on that young line may seem daunting but this list should help sort things out. A lot of these faces are going to be ones fans will see for the next two to three years.

Penn State reveals new uniform numbers for new and returning players

Penn State revealed updated uniform numbers for some new members of the program and three returning players

Penn State officially welcomes some of its newest members f the program to campus recently as the academic calendar moves from the spring semester to the summer. So naturally, that led to some players getting their first jersey numbers with the football program.

On Monday, Penn State revealed the uniform numbers for its newest members joining from the transfer portal or the Class of 2023.

Here are the numbers six new players will be wearing with the Nittany Lions in 2022;

  • 5 – [autotag]Cam Miller[/autotag], cornerback
  • 8 – [autotag]Tyler Johnson[/autotag], wide receiver
  • 13 – [autotag]Christian Driver[/autotag], safety
  • 64 – [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag], offensive lineman
  • 66 – [autotag]Drew Shelton[/autotag], offensive tackle
  • 97 – [autotag]Alex Bacchetta[/autotag], punter

Penn State still has some uniform numbers to distribute as a few more additions will be joining the program later this summer as well. In addition to these new numbers for new players, Penn State also updated the uniform numbers for three returning players.

Quarterback [autotag]Christain Veilleux[/autotag] is now wearing No. 11, [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] is wearing No. 1, and offensive lineman [autotag]Nick Dawkins[/autotag] will wear No. 53, the number his father Daryll Dawkins wore in the NBA.

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Penn State’s big recruiting weekend includes visit from USC commit

USC and Utah commits among those visiting Penn State after first week of spring football practices

Penn State is wrapping up its first week of spring football practices with a big recruiting weekend. Penn State is hosting a number of recruits this weekend, opening the doors to spring football practices to current commits and targets in the next three recruiting cycles.

Lions247 has a full list of players scheduled to make a visit to Penn State this weekend. Among the players visiting includes a number of Class of 2022 commits who have not been able to enroll early, including Cornell transfer offensive lineman [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] and Lackawanna College JUCO transfer [autotag]Tyrece Mills[/autotag]. [autotag]Drew Shelton[/autotag], another prize in the recruiting class for 2022 is also set to be in town.

Some members of the Class of 2023 are also checking out the scene this weekend with [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag] scheduled to be making a visit. Penn State will also be hosting a number of targets in the Class of 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Among the recruits visiting Penn State in the Class of 2025 is currently committed to USC. Defensive back Arron White has been a hard commit to the Trojans since last September, before the coaching change with the program, so it remains to be seen just how serious a candidate Penn State will ultimately be for White, who is an Orange, California native. Regardless, having White on campus is still noticeable for a player not scheduled to join the college ranks for another three years.

White isn’t the only Pac-12 commit in town either. Wide receiver Kobe Boykin, another product out of Orange, California, is currently committed to Utah’s Class of 2024. Could Penn State manage to flip a couple of Pac-12 commits? Time will tell, but Penn State will hope to leave a solid impression on these and other recruits this weekend.

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Video highlights of each member of Penn State football’s Class of 2022

WATCH: Video highlights of each Penn State Class of 2022 player

Penn State locked in its Class of 2022 at the start of the NCAA’s early signing period, and with it comes a bunch of buzz for the future of the Nittany Lions under the leadership of head coach James Franklin. But chances are most of you are unfamiliar with what any of these new faces will bring to the table for Penn State. So it’s a good thing Penn State served up some highlight packages to give fans a quick glimpse of the kind of talent that is joining the program.

Enjoy this collection of video highlights of Penn State’s newest additions in the Class of 2022.

Big board: Penn State’s 2022 football recruiting class by position

Breaking down Penn State football’s Class of 2022 position by position.

Penn State’s Class of 2022 has long been recognized as one of the top classes in the nation. The latest (and greatest) recruiting class to be signed by James Franklin looks to add some tremendous quality and depth to various positions across the roster and has some players to really look forward to watching grow almost immediately.

For a long stretch in this recruiting cycle, Penn State had the nation’s top-ranked class, and it continued to be ranked highest among Big Ten schools up until shortly before the early signing period. But there is no disputing the ranking of Penn State’s Class of 2022 is proof Penn State has been hitting it hard on the recruiting trail this cycle.

Here is a breakdown of Penn State’s Class of 2022 broken down by position.

Drew Shelton provides boost to Penn State’s offensive line

Penn State four-star commit Drew Shelton is part of the plan on beefing up the offensive line in the Class of 2022

Position: Offensive Tackle

Height: 6′-5″

Weight: 290 lb

Hometown: Downingtown, PA

High School: Downingtown West

Twitter: @drewshelt7

Committed: September 4, 2020

247 Sports: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overview

The offensive line struggled this season, and James Franklin didn’t mess around to build heavily for the future of Penn State’s front five. Drew Shelton stands 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds. He is a bit lean for his size, but has plenty of time to bulk up for the season.

Shelton excels as a pass blocker, which is where Penn State struggled throughout the season against teams with a quality pass rush. Like every recruit coming in, there’s always something to work on. But Shelton has the talent to potentially develop his way into a starting role for the Nittany Lions.

As a run blocker, Shelton has been seen pancaking guys even when the runner is out of reach. If his skills can translate to the next level, Shelton will be an exciting player to watch groom into a potential starter in a few years or even a reliable rotational guy.

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Penn State’s Class of 2022 is now ranked No. 2

Penn State’s latest recruiting efforts continue to pay off in a big way in the recruiting rankings for 2022

After a brilliant week of recruiting news, Penn State’s Class of 2022 continues to move up in the national rankings. And it didn’t have that far it could have moved. After coming out of the July 4th weekend with the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class according to the 247 Sports composite ranking, the Nittany Lions have moved up one spot.

According to the updated composite rankings from 247 Sports, Penn State has moved up to No. 2 in the nation, passing Notre Dame. The Irish fell one spot to occupy the ranking recently held by the Nittany Lions. Ohio State remains the nation’s recruiting leader with the highest-rated class featuring four five-star recruits in the Class of 2022.

Penn State’s recruiting ranking was given a healthy boost over the July 4th weekend with the additions of four-star defenders Tyreese Fearbry and Zane Durant. The weekend also saw the additions of linebacker Keon Wylie and defensive lineman Kaleb Artis. Penn State also added a JUCO commitment from JB Nelson. The big splash continued on Tuesday when four-star running back Nicholas Singleton from Reading, PA announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions.

Penn State’s Class of 2022 already included a number of four-star recruits as well including wide receivers Kaden Saunders, Mekhi Flowers, and Anthony Ivey, offensive tackle Drew Shelton, quarterback Drew Allar and defensive end Ken Talley, just to name a few.

As of the morning of July 9, here is a look at the top 10 in the recruiting rankings from 247 Sports;

  1. Ohio State
  2. Penn State
  3. Notre Dame
  4. LSU
  5. Oklahoma
  6. Florida State
  7. Georgia
  8. Texas
  9. Oregon
  10. Michigan

Asking Penn State to climb to No. 1 is unrealistic at this point, barring a completely unexpected collapse from Ohio State, but the Nittany Lions are easily on track to record the highest-rated recruiting class under head coach James Franklin yet. Keeping everyone in the class still requires work too between now and the early signing period in December. And it’s possible another school may eclipse Penn State at some point. But the Nittany Lions are in a terrific spot in the middle of the summer.

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