PROVO — BYU cornerback Michael Shelton was pretty certain as to what would greet him when introduced as one of the football team's seniors honored pregame before last week's 45-10 win over New Mexico State. But what actually greeted him left him pleasantly surprised and a little overwhelmed.
All seniors introduced to the crowd prior to kickoff were greeted with cheers with the loudest reserved for standouts like Sione Takitaki, Corbin Kaufusi and Tanner Mangum. As for Shelton, the cheers heard were some of the loudest, which was something the 5-foot-8 North Carolina native wasn't expecting, at all.
"I was real nervous to go out thinking I'd hear mostly boos," Shelton said. "But (BYU coach) Kalani (Sitake) encouraged me to go out there and man, I'll never forget it."
So why would he expect to be booed?
It all goes back to some comments Shelton made with regards to preferring to play on the road as opposed to playing at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
"I like playing on the road because I think that the atmosphere is a lot better than our atmosphere at home," Shelton told KSLin an article published on Oct. 30. "I like playing at home, but sometimes our fans can be a downer and it brings us down. I think we feed off the energy when we play away."
Those comments were largely taken as one would expect, with fans expressing disappointment at the sentiments across the message boards.
I don't think I've ever been more excited for a game than this one. I'm beyond excited to get it on. I've been told on the type of hospitality we'll be getting and I'm ready for it. We all are. – BYU defensive back Michael Shelton
As for Shelton, he almost immediately retracted his statement, posting on twitter the next day that, "I just want all of Cougar Nation to know I am grateful for their love and support," Shelton wrote. "I said some things earlier this week that were unfair to some of our fans. We have the best fans in the world and as a team, we look forward to giving them a reason to cheer us on both on the road and at home!"
For those assuming he was forced to make that sort of statement, his clear emotion showed when he was interviewed about it after Tuesday's practice session for the game at Utah that told a much different story.
"It really meant a lot to me. It touched me and I'll always remember it, and I'll always be grateful for the BYU fans," Shelton said.
Shelton experienced his share of ups and downs since arriving at BYU for the 2015 season. He was greeted with immediate playing time as a freshman, yet was passed over in the rotation the next two seasons, perhaps due to a new defensive philosophy that came with the new coaching staff that arrived in 2016.
But rather than fade away Shelton put in the work for his final season in Provo and became one of the better stories within the defense from spring practices through the regular season. Through 11 games played Shelton has proven the most consistent option among the cornerbacks and is hoping to go out with his best effort yet when the Cougars take on the Utes this Saturday.
"I don't think I've ever been more excited for a game than this one," Shelton said. "I'm beyond excited to get it on. I've been told on the type of hospitality we'll be getting and I'm ready for it. We all are."
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BYU (6-5) at No. 17 Utah (8-3)
- Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday, 8 p.m.
- TV: FS1
- Radio: ESPN 700AM/KSL 1160AM