Eric Shelton (born June 23, 1983) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Louisville. Shelton has also been a member of the Washington Redskins.

Early years

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 Brya ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, where he played both running back and linebacker 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 USA Today and

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

All-American and was also an All-State

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

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

College career

Florida State

Shelton started his collegiate career at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, where he played one season as a true freshman for the Seminoles. 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 transfer rules, however, he was forced to sit out the 2002 season.

Louisville

Shelton attended the University of Louisville, and in his junior year (in 2004) he led the Cardinals in rushing (938 yards) and touchdowns (20). His touchdown total tied the single season Louisville touchdown record (since broken by Michael Bush 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, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

. 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 drafted in the second round (54th overall) of the

by the Carolina Panthers 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. 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 th ...

at the beginning of the

2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League. 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 United ...

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 Washington Redskins 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 bioWashington 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