It's that time of year when I catch up with some of the incoming prospects for our "Up Close and Personal" series that runs in our magazine. The stories will eventually run on the site here as well this summer, but there are often quick updates that come from the interviews that I like to share here first.
This week I caught up with DT Antonio Shelton of Westerville (Ohio) North. He's had an interesting journey to Penn State, to say the least, and it's something we get into quite a bit in the article. But Shelton also updated his preparations as he gets set to enroll in June.
"Right now I've just been focused on graduating and preparing for the summer," Shelton said. "I've just been going as hard as I can in the weight room, on the field and in my books."
Shelton has been on Dwight Galt's strength and conditioning program basically since he signed in February and he reports to have added at least 15 pounds since his senior season. Initially, though, adding the weight Galt's way was a challenge due to the personalized meal plan. For Shelton that's meant a lot of lean proteins, rice and heavy breakfasts every morning washed down with one-percent milk.
"It's different than what I was used to doing," he said. "At first it was a total shock, but I've gotten into the routine of things. The hardest part is the meal planning ... because it requires more discipline. You won't see the results if you eat terribly."
Although the results were slow to come first, Shelton is feeling it now. Having played between 270-280 pounds this past fall, Shelton says he now weighs 295. "But I don't feel like it," he added. "I'm moving like I was when I was like 280."
Just wanted to share those notes with everyone here. Seems as though Shelton, who was originally committed to Illinois before picking up his PSU offer late in the recruiting process, is making some moves toward being ready to at least compete for playing time this fall.
As we all know, there are going to be a lot of suitors vying for the open DT spots this preseason, many who are unproven at the position. Shelton, a three-star with six scholarship offers, might be one of the most unproven but he's taking the approach that he has just as much of a chance as most of the other guys.
"I want to see the field," he said. "That's my major goal."
This week I caught up with DT Antonio Shelton of Westerville (Ohio) North. He's had an interesting journey to Penn State, to say the least, and it's something we get into quite a bit in the article. But Shelton also updated his preparations as he gets set to enroll in June.
"Right now I've just been focused on graduating and preparing for the summer," Shelton said. "I've just been going as hard as I can in the weight room, on the field and in my books."
Shelton has been on Dwight Galt's strength and conditioning program basically since he signed in February and he reports to have added at least 15 pounds since his senior season. Initially, though, adding the weight Galt's way was a challenge due to the personalized meal plan. For Shelton that's meant a lot of lean proteins, rice and heavy breakfasts every morning washed down with one-percent milk.
"It's different than what I was used to doing," he said. "At first it was a total shock, but I've gotten into the routine of things. The hardest part is the meal planning ... because it requires more discipline. You won't see the results if you eat terribly."
Although the results were slow to come first, Shelton is feeling it now. Having played between 270-280 pounds this past fall, Shelton says he now weighs 295. "But I don't feel like it," he added. "I'm moving like I was when I was like 280."
Just wanted to share those notes with everyone here. Seems as though Shelton, who was originally committed to Illinois before picking up his PSU offer late in the recruiting process, is making some moves toward being ready to at least compete for playing time this fall.
As we all know, there are going to be a lot of suitors vying for the open DT spots this preseason, many who are unproven at the position. Shelton, a three-star with six scholarship offers, might be one of the most unproven but he's taking the approach that he has just as much of a chance as most of the other guys.
"I want to see the field," he said. "That's my major goal."
