Eric Shelton (born June 23, 1983) is an American former professional

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player who was a

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in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the second round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

. Shelton was also a member of the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Early life

Shelton attended

Bryan Station High School Bryan Station High School, founded in 1958, is a high school within the Fayette County Public Schools system in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. During the 2006–2007 school year, students were moved to their newly built school known as Bry ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, where he played both running back and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and twice earned state Class 4A Player of the Year honors. He totaled 4,970 yards rushing with 59 touchdowns and 129 tackles with 11 sacks and 41 stops for losses during his career. Shelton was a First-team

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and

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All-American and was also an All-State track performer who competed in the high hurdles, triple jump and 4x100 relay. It was in high school that he met his future wife Shamea. He was on

Tom Lemming Tom Lemming is an American high school football recruiting analyst. Tom Lemming serves as the host of ''The Lemming Report'' on CBS Sports Network, the only national weekly high school football recruiting show. He is the editor of ''The Tom Lemmin ...

's Top 100 highschool recruits, ranked at #6 in the nation

College career

Florida State

Shelton started his

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career at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, where he played one season as a

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for the

Seminoles The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

. He finished fourth on the team with 29 carries for 130 yards (4.5 avg.) but was disappointed with his playing time and decided to transfer to Louisville. As a result of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

transfer rules, however, he was forced to sit out the 2002 season.

Louisville

Shelton attended the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

, and in his junior year (in 2004) he led the

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in rushing (938 yards) and touchdowns (20). His touchdown total tied the single season Louisville touchdown record (since broken by

Michael Bush Michael Warren Bush Jr. (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He p ...

with 23 in 2005) and he also tied a Louisville record by rushing for five touchdowns in a game versus

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. He ranked sixth in the nation with 120 points. In 22 games with the Cardinals, he totaled 1,728 yards on 312 carries (5.5 avg) and had 30 touchdown runs. His 30 touchdowns rank third all time at Louisville despite his only playing two years there.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Shelton was selected in the second round (54th overall) of the

by the

with a pick they obtained from the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. Shelton's NFL career got off to a rough start as he was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

at the beginning of the

2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005, to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the ...

due to a broken foot. In the 2006 season, Shelton rushed for 23 yards on only eight carries, and was activated in only eight games. After a disappointing career with the Panthers he was released by them on September 1, 2007.

Washington Redskins

On January 9, 2008, the

signed Shelton to a future contract. He was waived/injured with a neck injury on July 30 and subsequently placed on injured reserve. He was released with an injury settlement on August 15.

Personal life

Shelton and his wife Shamea had their wedding documented on episode six of the first season of ''My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding'', a show on WE, Women's Entertainment Network. The final cost for the Lexington, KY wedding was $270,000, funded by Shelton's endorsement money.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio

Washington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Eric 1983 births Living people American football running backs Florida State Seminoles football players Louisville Cardinals football players Carolina Panthers players Washington Redskins players Players of American football from Lexington, Kentucky