As Shawn Griswold awaits his last game as an Aggie Saturday at noon in Romney Stadium, the irony is not lost on him: It will be against the man who recruited him to Utah State - Chuck Shelton, now coach at Pacific.

"I think it will be good," says the most-unique USU gridder, one of five remaining Shelton signees. Shelton left in late 1991. "He's the guy that recruited you; then the next thing you know, you get to play against him in your last game," says Griswold, noting, "it's amazing how it goes so fast."He's a good guy, and he did a lot for the guys here," Griswold says of Shelton, who took him out of Northern California as a defensive tackle.

Griswold has since had six jobs - defensive tackle, center, strong guard, quick guard, quick tackle and now starting at tight end. He was groomed at defensive end, too.

"Never in my wildest dreams," he says of tight end.

"There have been a lot of changes for me," Griswold says. "I came here to play whatever position they want."

Griswold was the first Ag to catch a TD pass in '95 (in Game 3!). "When I caught it, I had to get it in the end zone," Griswold says of the first TD, on a fourth-and-2 with USU losing 13-0 to Southern Miss. Twelve minutes later, he caught the next scoring play of that game. He's USU's No. 3 catcher, 19 for 238 yards, three TDs and a PAT grab.

The other four Shelton recruits still with USU are injured O-linemen Marcus Daley (1990) and Rob Holmes ('91); long snapper and superb special-teamer Todd Wilson of Logan, recruited in '89, back in '92 after an LDS mission; and runner Abu Wilson ('91).

Griswold is the only one of the group who never missed a season.

He's spanned three coaching eras - Shelton, Charlie Weatherbie and now John L. Smith. He says the atmosphere has come full circle. Like Shelton, Smith is demanding and discipline-oriented. "We've gone back to that, wearing a coat and tie on the road, treating people with respect . . . " Griswold says.

"(Shelton) left because of the situation," says Griswold. Shelton quit when the outgoing USU president refused to extend his contract with a year left. "I have nothing against him. He was a good coach for me. He was a players' coach. I think he's a great guy," says Griswold, who came to Logan because the 1990 Ags just missed a Raisin Bowl berth and because he could learn from linemen like All-Big West tackle Joe Jacobs.

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With new staffs came new ideas. Griswold, a soccer played who first tried organized football as a high school sophomore, was switched to the O-line. With 1994's line injuries, he started four games at quick tackle, two each at center and strong guard and one at quick guard.

With Smith in January came need for a run-blocking tight end because Mike Hamilton (illness) withdrew from school, leaving Shelton recruit Kevin Welch and freshman Kevin Corner. Each left the program last summer, Corner with injuries and Welch for studies.

"It didn't happen right away," Griswold says of his newest switch. "I lost 10 pounds. They wanted to see how my hands were."

He's shocked everyone with his runs after catches; his feet barely clear the grass-blade tops. "I'm just so stiff," he says. Yet his first two TD receptions went for 24 and 14 yards, and he has a 50-yard play as well.

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