BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — When he wasn't traveling to Puerto Rico for his cousin's marriage, or hanging out with family and friends in Florida, Wisconsin's Sojourn Shelton was dong his offseason homework.
"Honestly, I've been working my mind off," he said. "And my tail off, as well."
Off the field, it entailed watching video of LSU, the season-opening opponent. But he didn't stop there. Out of necessity, more so than curiosity, he also checked out some Michigan game footage.
"I look forward to playing every game on the schedule," said Shelton, a senior cornerback from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. "But I've never played against Michigan."
He's not the only one who can make that statement. The last time that the Badgers faced the Wolverines was in 2010 at the Big House. It was a complete mismatch, too, in favor of the visitors.
Wisconsin rushed for 357 yards — James White had 181 and Montee Ball had 173 — in a 48-28 thumping of Michigan in what would be the last season of the ill-faded Rich Rodriguez era.
The schools will finally resume their series on Oct. 1 in Ann Arbor.
"I've heard a lot of things about that stadium (109,901) and I'm pretty excited," Shelton said. "The game I watched, a TV copy, was Michigan versus Minnesota. It went down to the wire."
An excitable Shelton found himself yelling at the screen like it was live and not on tape. And that was perfectly understandable given the dramatic ending at TCF Bank Stadium last season.
The Michigan defense stuffed quarterback Mitch Leidner on the goal line as time expired. The Gophers had distained a potential tying field goal that would have sent the game into overtime.
"They have some big-play guys on the offensive and defensive end," Shelton said of the Wolverines. "I was watching the type of guys they have and how some of them play.
"You're never in a position where you can't learn. You can take things from other people's game film and I was looking at their corners. They have one of the best secondaries in the country.
"Why not look and see what those guys are doing?"
Although Michigan is in Monday's rotation of the Big Ten Media Days — Wisconsin is in the second day grouping — Shelton is looking forward to crossing paths with some of his contemporaries.
Especially before and after Tuesday's Kickoff Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.
Accompanying Shelton will be UW linebacker Vince Biegel and tailback Dare Ogunbowale. The Wolverines will showcase tight end Jake Butt, wideout Amar Darboh and cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
"I know Lewis, we're not necessarily friends, but we know of each other," said Shelton, who attended the same Nike camp as Lewis when they were both in high school.
"It will be really cool and interesting to see some of these guys (Monday and Tuesday). We'll get to talk a little bit and see how our summers are going and share some experiences."
Besides Shelton and Lewis, there will be three other cornerbacks on the Chicago stage: Iowa's Desmond King, Maryland's William Likely and Northwestern's Matthew Harris.
Shelton and King, the 2015 Jim Thorpe Award winner, have used social media as a bridge and vehicle to build a friendship the last few seasons. King, like Lewis, is a Detroit native.
"This will be a chance for us to sit down and talk about football and things that are going on," Shelton said. "Usually after the game, we'll dap it up, but the last two years have been intense at the end of those games (Wisconsin won in Iowa City and Iowa won in Madison). So we just said, 'Hi and bye' in passing."
Last year, King had eight interceptions, the second most in the nation. As a true freshman, Shelton had four in his first 10 games. But he didn't get his fifth pick until a crucial moment in the 2015 Holiday Bowl.
Shelton knows that he must be more reliable when he gets an opportunity to make a play on the ball (though there have been fewer chances because of a heavy man-to-man tendency on defense).
"The biggest thing for me when I look at these last two years is that I've been around the ball a lot," he said. "But, honestly, I have to make a play, I have to catch the football. It's as simple as that.
"I'm not saying I'm playing perfect technique or I'm not getting beat — every corner gets beat. But I've been in the position to make plays and I know that I can make them. I just haven't capitalized.
"When those plays present (themselves), when those times come, I have to say, "Don't tense up. You've been there a million times; you've done it plenty of times. Just do it. Get the job done.'"
Over the summer, Shelton developed a training bond with Nick Nelson, a transfer from the University of Hawai'i. Nelson, who will sit out this season, started 13 games as a sophomore in '15.
The two have broken down some film together, including Wisconsin's 28-0 win over Hawai'i last September at Camp Randall Stadium. Nelson (5-11, 204) had nine tackles and a PBU in the loss.
"It's always good to get the perspective of another corner — what was going through his mind or what he saw when the receiver came out in his split," said Shelton, who has 37 career starts.
"We play the same position but we all don't necessarily think the same. We don't all have the same body and we play a little different.
"If I can take something from his game and apply it to mine, and vice versa, then you can't help but get better. Nick is just a really cool person."
Shelton had the same thing to say about tailback Chris James, a transfer from the University of Pittsburgh. Both James and Nelson will have two years of eligibility remaining when they take the field in 2017.
"He's a really strong dude," Shelton said of the 5-10, 208-pound James, a Chicago native. "I work out with him in the mornings. When we're in the locker room, he's fun to be around.
"They're both adjusting pretty well. And they're very good teammates."
As the only returning starter in the secondary, Shelton has been trying to set an example, particularly with the newcomers, transfers and freshmen.
One has already left an impression: cornerback Dontye Carriere-Williams, who's a product of a national powerhouse, the highly respected St. Thomas Aquinas program in Ft. Lauderdale.
"He kind of reminds me a little bit of myself," said Shelton, who started 12 of 13 games his first season at Wisconsin. "I'm excited for him. He's ahead of the game, you can tell that.
"Coming from such a high-caliber high school, he understands the game of football. Now it's just a matter of getting into pads and practices and putting it all together.
"I've been talking to him a lot about situations that he's going to face. It's college and you're going to get beat, you're going to get scored upon.
"But you have to stay level-headed and keep attacking it day-in and day-out. I've been talking to him a lot about the mental aspect of football that comes with being on the field and off the field."
Shelton has been talking to others about that part of the game, namely his position coach, Jim Leonhard, who's embarking on his first season as an assistant on Paul Chryst's staff.
"Every time I have had the chance go up there (Leonhard's office) and watch film with Coach," Shelton said, "I'm the first one there."
And the last one to leave. Shelton will likely field a number of questions on Leonhard's presence and impact during his two days in Chicago.
"This sport brings so many athletes together," he said, anticipating his DB dialogue with King and Lewis, et al. "I can't be anything but thankful for the avenues that it has opened for me in life."
