I’ve never felt more welcome. I felt more at home than ever, so it was no problem being so far from my actual home. It’s a great place. – BYU freshman Michael Shelton
PROVO — Although Provo is over 2,000 miles from his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, Cougar cornerback Michael Shelton feels right at home at BYU.
That sense of being at home came almost immediately to Shelton when he first made his way to the school to participate in the program's junior day recruiting function in June 2013. Prior to making his initial visit, the 5-foot-8 cornerback was approached by BYU defensive backs coach Nick Howell, who showed up somewhat unexpectedly to express interest.
That interest was reciprocated immediately by Shelton, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and grew immensely after seeing the program up close during junior day.
“My visit here was probably one of my favorite experiences here,” Shelton said. “I’ve never felt more welcome. I felt more at home than ever, so it was no problem being so far from my actual home. It’s a great place.”
Shelton committed shortly after his junior day visit, choosing the Cougars over offers from other programs, including one from nearby Auburn.
Shelton signed as part of BYU's 2014 recruiting class and came to Provo with his eye set on making an immediate contribution. An injury during fall practices put those plans aside in favor of a year on the scout team while redshirting.
“At first it was difficult when we came to the conclusion that I would redshirt, but then redshirting, if you think about it, is not so bad,” Shelton said. “You get a lot of experience redshirting. You learn a lot more and you get to work on those techniques.”
The time spent sitting out his first year at BYU has apparently paid dividends.
Shelton has become a key cog in the Cougar defensive backfield, playing primarily at the nickelback position when the defense aligns with five defensive backs. Along with starters Micah Hannemann and Michael Davis, Shelton has provided solid play while helping limit opposing offenses' deep-ball opportunities.
“We’re doing a nice job, so far, of keeping the ball in front of us and very few balls are going over the top,” said coach Bronco Mendenhall when asked to appraise the play of his cornerbacks. “One of the things coach (Nick) Howell has done a nice job of is to work on the finish of the routes.”
Shelton believes the team's progress isn't due to a sudden bump in talent, but with coaches and players feeling more unified as a position group.
“Last year we had the talent to be as good as we are now and probably could have been better than what we are now, but everybody wasn’t on the same page,” Shelton said. “This year it’s a different story. Coach Howell has really done a great job teaching us and making sure we’re on the same page. It’s a lot better that way than it was last year.”
Although he's been solid in every game this season, Shelton picked off the first pass of his career during last week's 30-13 win over UConn. Following the interception, he chose to just fall to the ground, securing the ball to make sure the turnover would stand.
“Your job is to go out and play hard and make plays, and that’s what I did,” Shelton said of recording his first interception. “If felt really good though being that it was my first interception.”
Shelton has no plans of making last week's interception his last and may endeavor to do more with the ball on subsequent pick-offs, much like his teammate, safety Kai Nacua, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Boise State. “A little bit of Kai may come out of me in future interceptions,” Shelton said.
Until then, Shelton is content to do his job on the field and off while enjoying all his BYU experiences through a little more than a year.
“I have progressed as a player and as a person in all areas while being here so far,” Shelton said. "I love it here."
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney