Rivals250 OL Drew Shelton "Locked In" with Nittany Lions

Penn State received a major boast Wednesday with offensive lineman Drew Shelton announcing that he’s no longer considering other schools and is “107% Locked In” with his commitment to the Nittany Lions. The announcement came, fittingly, at 1:07 p.m. eastern time.

Shelton, who committed to the Nittany Lions back in September, grew up outside Downingtown, Pa. He played three seasons for Downingtown West before transferring to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. in January. Since making that move, however, it’s allowed other schools, most notably some down south, to get a better feel for his potential. Both Florida State and Miami offered him shortly after the move, but it was the other major program in the SunShine State, Florida, that ultimately grabbed his attention.

Back on June 12, Shelton returned to IMG Academy to participate in Under Armour's Future 50 camp. Instead of returning home, he drove 170 miles north to spend 48 hours with Dan Mullen and his staff at Florida. Following the visit, he admitted that it makes his recruitment "a little confusing," adding that he enjoyed his time at Florida but needs to think about things more.

That following weekend, however, he returned to State College for an official visit, June 18-20, after taking an unofficial visit with James Franklin and his staff on June 1. On top of that, he left that visit deciding to cancel planned unofficial visits to Georgia and Florida State.

"Coach Franklin told me that I'm a leader of this class and that I'm a big part of their peer recruiting," he said. "Guys aren't going to take me as serious when I'm still shopping myself around, especially compared to someone like Kaden [Saunders], who shut it all down."

Shelton then returned to Penn State this past weekend, June 25-27, for his third visit. Along with all the other committed players who had yet to use an official visit, it allowed him to reach this point in his recruitment, where he felt comfortable shutting it down.

Currently, Shelton is the top-ranked player in Penn State's Class of 2022, sitting at No. 123 overall. He's the 14th-ranked offensive tackle and the 17th-ranked prospect in Florida.

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98

• Follow us on Instagram

• Like us on Facebook