It's plastered on wall inside a Cleveland Browns meeting room: Football is fun.
And that's exactly what Danny Shelton plans on doing every Sunday, just like he did on Saturday's in the Pac-12.
If you watch Shelton's Friday introductory press conference, there's no doubting he has gusto and can read a room on how to be humorous. When questioned about his leisurely timed 40-yard dash, Shelton responded, "I think it's super important … If you're a track star."
Shelton knows how to carry his enjoyable enthusiasm on the field, too.
To add more incentive to performing at a high level, Shelton and his Washington teammates waged a friendly competition on individual statistics. Shelton and fellow first round pick Shaq Thompson monitored who had the most fumble recoveries as often as a high schooler checks Instagram. Tackles and sacks were also kept track of, and the winner most of the time was Shelton – who boasted 93 and nine respectively.
"I made a promise to the team in the offseason that I'd be the guy who brought positive energy so honestly just keeping with that, it brought production, I was having fun, I was having a good time," said Shelton.
The thing about Shelton is that he's not just some jokester. He can balance when to be serious, as evidence by his All-Academic selection. Shelton majored in Anthropology, which he said better connected him to his Polynesian roots.
"That correlates to the field to understand where other players are coming from and understanding different perspectives," said Shelton. "At the same time, it's being coachable, being able to learn new positions and better my knowledge of the game."
Shelton takes his studies so seriously, he was doing homework on Friday in-between all the frenzy of meeting the Browns coaching staff and staffers.
"I'm going to be that guy who outworks people," said Shelton. "I'm going to be that guy who breaks stereotypes, breaks negativity, and brings the positive energy.
"I'm just excited to get in and work with these guys and be a part of the Dawg Pound."
