Shelton can look back on record-setting run with a smile
January 02, 2017 | Football, Andy Baggot
An unlikely ironman, Badgers cornerback set to make 51st start of his career
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
DALLAS, Texas — Sojourn Shelton is about to become a record-setting ironman, but the senior cornerback for the Wisconsin football team admits he doesn't look the part. He's listed at 5-foot-9 and 168 pounds.
He's more sinew than muscle.
He's not what you'd picture as someone on the verge of starting more games than any known player in UW history.
Shelton smiled at the inference that a guy his size would be viewed as incapable of appearing in 54 games, starting 51, for the Badgers since he arrived on campus in 2013.
Shelton told the story of being interviewed by ESPN play-by-play man Chris Fowler, who asked how a guy so small could be so dependable in such a violent undertaking.
"I've been thankful to be durable," Shelton explained. "I think a lot of it just comes from doing what the guys in the weight room tell me as far as stretching and taking care of my body.
"I'm just thankful for good health, man. Nicks and bruises here and there, but I've never had anything serious and missed a lot of time.
"I've been blessed."
A remarkable feat will go into the books Monday when the eighth-ranked Badgers (10-3 overall) take on 12th-rated Western Michigan (13-0) in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.
When Shelton lines up for his first defensive snap, he will move past offensive tackle Chris McIntosh (1996 to '99) and guard Bill Ferrario (1997 to 2000) on the all-time list for career starts.
Shelton will also make his 54th career appearance — as will outside linebacker Vince Biegel — allowing them to join nose guard Beau Allen (2010 to '13), wide receiver Jordan Fredrick (2012 to '15), guard Ryan Groy (2010 to '13), right tackle Rob Havenstein (2011 to '14), defensive end Ethan Hemer (2010 to '13), cornerback Darius Hillary (2012 to '15), punter Drew Meyer (2012 to '15) and safety Dezmen Southward (2010 to '13) atop that list.
"It's going to be special," Shelton said of the milestone, which comes on the heels of him graduating with a degree in life sciences communication in December. "It's pretty cool. I would never have imagined that coming to college.
"I went from getting here in January into just hoping to play in some games."
According to school records, Shelton started 12 of 13 games as a true freshman and 12 of 14 as a sophomore before racking up 26 consecutive starts as a junior and senior.
Paul Chryst is the third Wisconsin head coach Shelton has played for. Shelton was recruited by Bret Bielema, who left after the 2012 season to become the coach at Arkansas. Gary Andersen was the coach in 2013 and '14 before leaving for Oregon State and giving way to Chryst last season.
Chryst said Shelton's ironman streak is "impressive" because of the talent and durability required.
"There aren't many in college football that do that," Chryst said.
Shelton goes into his final college game with four interceptions, 12 pass breakups and 28 tackles this season. He has nine picks, 32 pass breakups and 126 tackles in his career.
McIntosh, a former first-round NFL draft pick and now a UW associate athletic director for development, called the feat by Shelton "an achievement."
"There's a lot of luck, a lot of preparation, a lot of taking advantage of opportunity," McIntosh said. "There's a leap that needs to be made as a young player to be able to get those starts early enough."
McIntosh famously played through a broken thumb suffered during the season opener in 1998.
"I've not met somebody who has played that many games who has been perfectly healthy for the entire stretch," he said of Shelton, "so there's some perseverance there, there's some resilience and I'm going to guess a whole lot of toughness."
A victory over the Broncos would be No. 41 for Shelton and the rest of his Wisconsin classmates, the most in a four-year period by any senior class in program history.
When Shelton arrived in Madison from Plantation High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, five Januarys ago, his goals were modest.
"When I came in as a freshman one of the biggest things I wanted to do is gain my teammates' trust," he said. "Especially with the kind of guys that were here when I was a freshman."
Shelton rattled off the names of wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, inside linebacker Chris Borland and tailbacks Melvin Gordon and James White as veterans he sought out for counsel. All were team captains and NFL draftees.
"Even though we were on all different sides of the ball, those were the guys that were the guys on the team and at some point I wanted to get where they were and how they contributed to this program," Shelton said.
"When I came in I made sure to do everything the seniors told me. I just kind of listened to them and tried to apply it to my game. It's gotten me this far."
McIntosh, a two-time co-captain and consensus first-team All-American in 1999, said getting a nod of respect from upperclassmen as a redshirt freshman was a major factor in his development.
"Speaking from my own experience, there were moments when, as a freshman, I felt accepted by the juniors and seniors on that team and that's a pretty cool feeling," he said.
Shelton said the advice he received from the upperclassmen in 2013 had a theme.
Stay grounded.
Understand that there are going to be good times and bad.
"A lot of people can thrive when things are good," Shelton said. "But when things get tough and shaky, stay the course and believe in yourself."
It seems appropriate that Shelton's final college game will feature one of his greatest challenges. He expects to cross paths with Corey Davis, the Western Michigan standout who ranks as the all-time leading receiver in Football Bowl Subdivision history with 5,212 yards.
Davis has career-high 91 catches for 1,427 yards and an FBS-leading 18 TD receptions this season.
Shelton believes a good showing against a consensus All-American and projected NFL first-rounder like Davis, a 6-foot-3, 215-pounder with breakaway speed, will bode well for his aspirations of playing at the next level.
"I think this can help me in so many ways with where I want to be in the future," Shelton said.
"I take it as a challenge, but at the same time it's not just me. I want to win. That's the biggest thing."
Shelton said he's looking forward to playing his final game with members of a tight-knit secondary, including senior free safety Leo Musso, junior strong safety D'Cota Dixon and junior cornerback Derrick Tindal.
"They mean a lot to me," Shelton said.
Frankly, so does the pending milestone for most career starts and games played at UW.
"I'm happy to be able to do it," he said. "But at the same time I just think: That's a lot of games played."
Shelton will go into the Wisconsin football record book as an ironman even though he doesn't quite look the part.
"It's something I'll hold for the rest of my life," he said.
