Cornerback Sojourn Shelton made it clear in 2013 that he joined the Wisconsin football team not to patiently wait behind veteran members of the secondary for playing time, but to immediately step into a starting role and establish himself as one of the best players on UW’s defense.
As a true freshman, Shelton earned his first career start against Massachusetts on Aug. 30, 2013 and quickly made his presence known, grabbing an eye-opening third quarter interception that displayed his quick reaction time and ability to close on the ball.
Following his encouraging opener, Shelton started 11 of the Badgers’ last twelve games, totaling four interceptions, a forced fumble and five pass breakups on the season. His playmaking skills and reliability earned him an All-Big Ten honorable mention and an All-Freshman honorable mention by College Football News.
However, Shelton’s 2014 performance has been uneven thus far. The 5-foot-9-inch, 178-pound cornerback has struggled through the first seven games of his sophomore season, as teams have tested his coverage on the outside.
Although Shelton has by no means proven to be a liability for the Wisconsin defense, he has yet to replicate the electrifying plays and ball-hawking capabilities that characterized his freshman year. He does not have an interception, and he’s managed just three pass breakups on the season.
Teams have gone after Shelton in bunches throughout the season, especially when he is in one-on-one coverage.
Northwestern completed a pair of 18-yard completions against Shelton in the same first quarter drive, both of which came with Shelton locked in on man-to-man coverage. Wide receiver Austin Carr beat Shelton by a step on a quick slant and quickly pushed the ball up field on the first completion, while the second pass went to wide receiver Jayme Taylor, who shook free of Shelton on a deeper slant pattern.
Maryland attacked Shelton over the top, completing a 22-yard pass on a fade route to his man in the second quarter and drawing a pass interference penalty against him on another deep vertical pattern later in the half.
Shelton’s most frustrating game came against Illinois Oct. 11, when he was called for three pass interference penalties, was beaten by his man on a first quarter touchdown and was consistently targeted by Illinois quarterback Reilly O’Toole.
Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda attributed Shelton’s shaky play against Illinois and throughout the first half of the season to his desire to play lockdown defense without relying on his help in the secondary.
“Sojourn is so talented,” Aranda said. “He wants to do things by himself and once he plays within the team framework he is very, very effective and I think he’s been applying those things the last two weeks.”
Shelton agreed with Aranda that his play thus far this year has been inconsistent.
“Of course I’ve felt that way, as far as there being some highs and lows, but I think those are just things that a corner goes through,” Shelton said. “It is a hard position, you have to play the best that you can.”
Although the season has not gone as well as he would have hoped, Shelton has not let any expectations coming in to the year from outside sources dictate his outlook.
“Honestly, expectations going into this year, not to say it in a bad way, but I don’t really worry about other people’s expectations because at the same time, they aren’t here to see the work you put in and whatnot,” Shelton said. “And to know that when you don’t live up to people’s expectations some bad things could come out of it, not for you, but just things that are said about you.”
The bad has not far outweighed the good for Shelton. While he has struggled at times and has yet to produce the numbers of last season, he has still contributed to a Badgers’ secondary that has given up just over 163 passing yards per game, best in the Big Ten.
Cornerback is one of the most mentally draining positions in football. While solid play in the secondary often goes unnoticed, pass interference penalties and broken coverages are more glaring, and it’s easy to assign blame on individual defensive backs.
Shelton’s level-headed approach to dealing with bouncing back from a poor play will undoubtedly go a long way in his effort to return to the top form he displayed last year. Shelton described how he is able to keep fighting even after drawing pass interference penalties.
“Continue to play, play as fast as you can and if they call it, try to learn from it, put it behind you, move on to the next play and just play as fast as you can,” Shelton said.
There is no question that Shelton has a special type of talent that can make things difficult for opposing quarterbacks. Given his ability to block out external noise and continue competing after tough plays, it will only be a matter of time before Shelton reclaims his role as the shutdown cornerback that the Wisconsin defense is familiar with.
