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F uture Penn State o4ensive lineman Drew Shelton announced on Jan. 2 that he plans to 3nish his high school career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. A Rivals250 prospect and the top overall commitment in Penn State's Class of 2022, Shelton said he always had interest in playing at IMG, and that it was his re- lationship with another Penn State re- cruit, o4ensive lineman Tyler Booker, that helped spark this move. "It really started with me becoming friends with Tyler Booker and Aliou Bah," Shelton said. "They've just been telling me for a while now that I should come down there and team up with them. It re- ally just went from there, and then the coaches got involved. We started talking about it in late November." Shelton said he was accepted into the boarding school on Dec. 10. There was a little bit of back-and-forth on whether he wanted to make the move, but in the end, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. "It's been a dream of mine to come down here," said Shelton, who began taking classes on Jan. 4. "You see the guys who play there and you see their fa- cilities and hear about the structure there all the time. It's all over the place." Like nearly all of the Division I prospects who make this move, Shelton said it was cen- tered around improving his chances of contributing early once he joins the Nit- tany Lions' program. "I want to get bigger, faster, stronger and be able to compete early at Penn State," Shelton said. "That's the main goal of mine. But also, just the maturity and growing up that comes out of this and liv- ing away from my parents. I think that will help me be ready to take that leap next January, when I go o4 [to Penn State]." He went on to add, "They also have in-person school right now, which I like, so that's really nice. Back at Downingtown, they're not sure when, if ever, we'll get back in person, so that played a part in this." Shelton said that both James Franklin and o4ensive line coach Phil Trautwein were 3ne with whatever he decided to do. "They weren't really pushing me either way," he said. "Coach Trautwein thought that this will help me become a better football player, just based o4 the compe- tition level. But they were cool with whatever I decided." Shelton is set to room with Ethan Lang, a former Bergen Catholic prospect from New Jersey. Getting to know his future teammates is his top priority in the weeks ahead. Once he feels comfortable with the group, he's interested in recruiting for Penn State. "I just want to get to know the guys 3rst, see where they stand, and then kind of take it from there," Shelton said. "If they're not real serious [about Penn State], I'm not going to push it on them. But if they're serious, obviously, I'm going to try and bring them along." Booker is one player who could be im- pacted by Shelton's decision. A native of Connecticut, he already had Penn State very high on his list. Booker announced in late December that the Nittany Lions were in his top 10, and it's believed that PSU is really top 3ve, potentially even better. That's a major reason why Shelton began speaking with him in the 3rst place. "I think we're still high on his list," Shelton said. "Obviously, he dropped a top 10 and we're still in it. I haven't talked too much about it recently. [Our talks have] been a little bit more about other stu4 lately. I do like that I'll be really get- ting to know, potentially, one of my future teammates. So hopefully that will help out with this move a little bit, but I'm just looking forward to getting to know him more and the guys down here that like Penn State." Shelton added that a few schools haven't stopped pursuing him, most no- tably Rutgers. More recently, a few other programs have started contacting him following the move to IMG. "There are a couple of schools reaching out," he said. "The Florida schools are coming now a little bit, now that I'm down here. Rutgers has also reached out some to try and talk, and a couple other schools that haven't o4ered me or any- thing like that. They just send some graphics and stu4 like that. There's noth- ing too serious." ■ Shelton wrapping up high school career at IMG | YOUTH MOVEMENT Shelton is the top-ranked player in PSU's 2022 recruiting class. The of- fensive lineman, who recently enrolled at IMG, is listed 120th in the Rivals250. Photo by Ryan Snyder

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