Swamp247 has been reporting for weeks that the Florida Gators would be active with the remaining seats on the NCAA Transfer Portal. The point of the defensive line, notably the inner part of the defensive line has been an area of focus in the portal for Orange and Blue. The Gators took their first step to add some depth to the defensive tackle position with the addition of former Penn State Nittany Lions Antonio Shelton.
He announced his departure from Nittany Lions on December 23. Michigan, Florida State, Illinois and Arizona State are some other teams that have also shown interest in Shelton. IIn his four years playing at Penn State, Shelton was responsible for 51 tackles in total and 6 sacks. Shelton is expected to be a transferred graduate with a year left to play at the university level, rather than testing the waters of the NFL. He made seven games for the Nittany Lions in 2020, started 12 games in 2019 and 1 started in 2018.
The addition of this 6ft-2, 327lbs comes at an ideal time for the defense of the Gators. The Gators will see the game of defensive tackles Tedarrell Slaton and Kyree Campbell after this season, and there will be a majority of youngsters on the squad within the defensive line. With the addition of Shelton, the Gators will have some experience added to their defensive attack room to keep up with names like Gervon Dexter and Jalen Lee, who saw some snaps in 2020. The Gators recently saw the start of the defensive end Zachary Carter announce their intentions to return to the team for their final year of college football next season, after deciding not to test the waters of the NFL Draft.
Some other names that the Gators have contacted on the NCAA Transfer Portal at some point include the former defensive striker from the State of Florida Cory Durdenand Clemson’s defensive striker, Jordan Williams. We also expect Florida to make a move for LSU tight end protractor Arik Gilbert and Oklahoma wide receiver protractor Charleston Rambo.
Lions247 editor Sean Fitz covered Shelton both as a high school recruit and as a player at Penn State and had many good things to say about the type of player the Gators will be adding up front.
“He is one of the strongest players I have seen coming through the program and close to the top in terms of bank numbers and strength. He is best suited for holding blockers and things like that. Sometimes a penetrator like a pass rusher, but not the his strength. He’s a solid presence in the middle and on the vocal guy. “
As mentioned, the Gators will have several younger players around Shelton on the defensive line and Fitz also adds that Shelton will be a good name to mix with the others around him in Gainesville.
“I think that whenever you look on the portal to add to your other guys, the experience is a prize. He’s a guy who started a lot of games for Penn State and really takes advantage of that experience for invaluable lessons with others guys around him. He saw a lot, played a lot of football. He has seen different looks and has an experience that can help on the field and in the cinema. “
247Sports Composite, an industry-generated average, ranked Shelton as the nation’s No. 82 defensive tackle in the 2016 cycle. He signed with Penn State in February 2016, after committing to the Nittany Lions in January of that year. .