Considering Danny Shelton’s brute strength and the unfiltered rage pulsing through his enormous body seconds after his two older brothers had been shot, there’s no doubt he could have beaten the gunman to death.
“I didn’t care if the guy died,” Shelton said, recalling the horrific events of May 1, 2011, in a poignant video blog posted last week on GritMedia.co.
But Shelton stopped pummeling the man and ultimately overcame an upbringing inundated with violence to become a standout nose tackle and exemplary student at the University of Washington. He is widely projected to become a first-round pick April 30 in the NFL Draft, and many analysts consider him a favorite to be chosen by the Cleveland Browns, who have two first-round selections (Nos. 12 and 19 overall).
Not only has Shelton conducted a private workout for the Browns in Washington, but he also had an official predraft visit Friday at team headquarters in Berea.
Still, no matter which team selects Shelton, he’s on the verge of fulfilling a dream nearly derailed by tragedy in Auburn.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office outlined the gruesome events in a news release nearly four years ago. The Beacon Journal obtained a copy, which detailed what the Auburn Police Department determined from eyewitness accounts and physical evidence during its investigation.
Gaston Shelton was visiting a friend at an apartment complex when a massive fight broke out. As he recorded video of the fight with his cellphone, Gaston was punched. He fought back and was jumped by three men, including Olenthis Woods.
Gaston then summoned his brothers — Shennon, Kevin and Danny — to help him seek retribution. A cousin and a friend tagged along. The six of them walked to Woods’ apartment, where he stood outside with his mother and sister.
As the group of six approached, Woods ran into the apartment and retrieved a handgun. With the Sheltons yelling for Woods to come outside, he moved to the entrance of the apartment.
Gaston stood just outside the front door and told Woods, “Then shoot me, shoot me, dude,” whereupon Woods shot him once in the chest. Shennon reacted by lunging toward Woods, and Woods shot him in the head.
Danny then grabbed the gun from Woods as Woods tried to shoot him and repeatedly hit Woods with the weapon while Danny’s cousin began kicking Woods. Woods’ mother and sister began pepper spraying Danny and his cousin. Woods managed to escape and ran away.
Danny recalled the chaos, from his perspective, in the video blog.
“The gunman was still standing up, the gun is jammed and I got a chance to make a move,” Danny said. “I throw a chair at him. I take him down to the ground. I start beating him.
“Then for some reason, my arm just freezes up, and I can’t choke the dude out anymore. I can’t punch him anymore, and I get off the guy. He starts running. The cops come and they catch him.”
At age 22, Shennon died in the hospital from the gunshot to his head. Gaston, who was 23 at the time, survived.
The prosecutor’s office did not file criminal charges against Woods.
“Prosecutors cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Woods was unjustified in his actions,” the news release read. “… Although the Sheltons did not carry any weapons, their likely intent to assault Woods allowed him to defend himself and his family with force, up to and including deadly force.”
Danny was a 17-year-old senior at Auburn High School who had already signed to play football at Washington. But the death of his brother put his future in jeopardy.
“I didn’t know if I was going to go to college or anything,” Shelton said. “It kind of set me back.”
The support of then-Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, who rushed to the hospital to console his prized recruit the night of the shooting, ultimately contributed to Shelton’s carrying through with his plan to play for the Huskies.
“The pain, the sadness, the emotion never goes away. It’s always there,” Shelton said. “But there is a way to move forward. That’s what I kind of found out throughout the four years of college and just working with my coaches, working on controlling my emotions, working on being a better football player, being a better student in the classroom, working on making my family proud.”
The truth is Shelton had a rough life even before the death of his brother.
Shelton described a childhood in which he and his siblings — three brothers and a sister — often moved from place to place with their mother, Oneone, in an effort to create distance from their father. Shelton said his dad physically abused his mother and one of his older brothers.
“I was just too young to do anything about it,” Shelton said. “I can remember a time when my dad was really violent with my mom, grabbing her, pushing her and stuff.
“It just made me want to grow up faster, want to be an adult already, so I could take care of my mom, so I could provide for her and be safe and have her feel safe.”
Shelton’s ability to rise above all of the adversity is nothing short of remarkable.
He was the only player in the country last season to be named first-team All-America and first-team Academic All-America. As a senior last year, he had 93 tackles, including 16.5 for loss and nine sacks. An anthropology major, Shelton earned the national academic honor with a 3.54 grade-point average.
“He’s a big personality, and I think if you roll it back and talk about some of the things that he’s dealt with in the past, I think he, like anybody would, struggled with how to process that for a couple of years,” Washington defensive line coach Jeff Choate said in a recent phone interview with the Beacon Journal.
Shelton’s mother is Samoan, his father Peruvian. He often speaks with pride about his heritage and dons a lavalava, a traditional Polynesian cloth worn like a kilt or skirt.
The 6-foot-2, 338-pound Shelton has drawn some comparisons to another Polynesian defensive tackle – five-time Pro Bowler Haloti Ngata, whose parents are from Tonga.
However, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has his doubts, even though he concedes nabbing Shelton at No. 12 would make sense for the Browns, whose defense finished last in the NFL last season against the run.
“People throughout the league say forget this Haloti Ngata comparison,” Kiper said during a conference call in March. “He’s not Haloti Ngata.”
Kiper said he believes Shelton will be an effective run-stopper in the NFL who’ll consistently draw double teams from offensive linemen and free linebackers as a result, but he questioned how well Shelton will be able to rush the passer at the next level and pointed to his unimpressive 40-yard dash at the combine (official time of 5.64 seconds). Kiper also said “being a two-down player is a concern.”
On the other hand, Choate is convinced Shelton has value as a three-down player.
“I think one of the things that really helped Danny’s draft stock was we made a conscious decision to play him three downs,” Choate said. “We played him in a sub package on our D-line. So we didn’t just take our four best pass rushers or our four fastest guys and put them on the field. We left Danny on the field, and there were really two reasons why we left Danny on the field. He’s a much better pass rusher than guys give him credit for. He can push the pocket and demand a double team, even in a max drop when you’re only bringing three guys.”
The Browns could use a new nose tackle to occupy the middle of coach Mike Pettine’s 3-4, hybrid defense. They let veteran starting nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin walk in free agency this offseason. Phil Taylor is certainly capable of filling the role when healthy, but he’s trying to come back after undergoing two knee surgeries last year.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s a special talent,” Pettine said of Shelton last month at the NFL owners meetings. “He could be long gone by the time we pick.”
The Chicago Bears, who own the seventh overall pick, have been linked to Shelton. But if he were still available at No. 12, many analysts predict the Browns would pounce. Some also project the Browns to take him at No. 19.
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