Blue White Illustrated

P enn State's Class of 2022 is o3 to an excellent start, and Downingtown East o3ensive lineman Drew Shelton is a major reason why. A member of the Ri- vals100, Shelton committed to the Nit- tany Lions in early September, not long a4er taking a personal visit to State Col- lege with his family. Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder recently caught up with the four-star Pennsylvania prospect to 2nd out what went into his decision to join the Lions' class. BWI I never got the impression from our previous conversations that you were planning to commit as early as you did. You always wanted to take visits. When did that change for you? SHELTON I realized I wanted to stay closer to home in the summer. Then I took a couple of trips on my own to Penn State and Rutgers. It really came down to those two schools. When I took the trips to Penn State and Rutgers, I found that I really fell in love with Penn State's cam- pus. Obviously, I already had a great re- lationship with all the coaches, so it felt like a no-brainer. BWI A lot of recruiting analysts, in- cluding myself, thought that Michigan was going to be a serious player with you. Did we overthink your ties to Michigan? Did we make more of that than we should have? SHELTON I grew up a huge Michigan fan. I remember getting in trouble when I was younger because I went in my room and slammed my door a4er Ohio State beat them one time. I got yelled at for that. But I just didn't feel the same love from them that I did from Penn State. Coach [Phil] Trautwein and Coach [James] Franklin and everyone at Penn State really showed from the be- ginning that I was very important to them. It was never inconsistent with them, and we built a bond pretty quickly. It was always easy to talk to them. BWI How much did Phil Trautwein's success at Boston College impact your decision? SHELTON Like I mentioned, staying close to home was important. That was one of the most important things. There were maybe one or two others, but Coach Trautwein and that relationship de2nitely had an impact. The work that he did at Boston College can't be over- looked. Making all of those guys into All-ACC players shows that he's doing something right. I love his coaching style. He's shown me some things during our Zoom calls. He's always showing me di3erent things that he could do with me. I know he'll make me a better player. But I also think you can't fall in love with coaches when you're making this decision. That's why I personally considered a few other things before coaches. They just move around a lot, which is understandable. That's just part of the business. But also, I do genuinely believe that Coach Trautwein will be here a while. He's a young coach who's moving up and is now getting his opportunity at a big- time school like Penn State. I know this is a place he wants to be. BWI What were some of those other factors? Aside from proximity to home, what put Penn State in the best spot? SHELTON The campus and everything up there in State College was big. I felt comfortable pretty quickly when I went up there in the summer. Coach Franklin has built this program into one of the best in our area. That had an impact. Also, Coach Franklin is just a fun guy. The 2rst time I talked to him, I'll never forget how he came o3. Not every coach is that easy to talk with. I remember he was throwing shots at me because my school always beats up on his high school every year. He's just a cool, laid- back guy. Another thing, which I saw Jerry [Cross] tweet out recently, is that it would mean a lot to me to help Coach Franklin become the 2rst black coach to win a national championship. That's an- other thing I really want to be a part of, and this program is already pretty close. It can happen. BWI Have you gotten to know many of the committed players within the re- gion? SHELTON I haven't met them yet, but we have a group chat that's a lot of fun. They're all fun guys, real cool guys. I can't wait to 2nally get the chance to meet up with all of them during a visit at some point. Hopefully in the spring we can do that. BWI What's your relationship like with Lonnie White? You guys live pretty close. SHELTON I've known about Lonnie since I was little. Lonnie was always a big name around here. I think I've known about Lonnie since third grade. He was that good of an athlete, even when we were young. I grew up watch- ing him play Little League baseball. But I really started being friends with Lonnie last year. I went to his mother's [recent cancer fundraiser]. That was a good ex- perience. Just being able to help out a future teammate, and more importantly, a friend, was good. He's a good friend who needs our help right now, so I'll al- ways be there for that kind of stu3. He's a good guy. BWI So was Lonnie a Little League leg- end growing up? How did you hear about him at such a young age? Did you play baseball? SHELTON Yeah, I was a big baseball player growing up, and one of my friends was on his team. I remember going to see my friend's games, and everyone would be saying that we have to watch this kid Lonnie, he's something special. Sure enough, it was just 12- year-old Lonnie doing what he does. He was always freakishly athletic. I N T E R V I E W D R E W S H E L T O N Penn State showed from the beginning that I was very important to them.' '

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