Sojourn Shelton
Introduction
Sojourn Shelton II (born December 25, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
Early years
Shelton attended Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida. He was a defensive back for their football team. As a senior, he was rated as a four-star recruit and the 27th best cornerback in the nation.After receiving offers from several big colleges such as Florida State, Ole Miss, and West Virginia, Shelton committed to the University of Wisconsin–Madison to play college football.
College career
In his first year with the Badgers in 2013, Shelton played all 13 games in the season which included 12 starts at cornerback, in which we recorded thirty-six tackles, four interceptions (tying for third in the Big Ten), and seven pass breakups. He became the first true freshman to start in a season opener since Travis Frederick in 2009. In 2014, he had a season that only included 33 tackles and 6 pass breakups.
In 2015, Shelton seemed to have an increasingly mediocre season, statistically. He recorded 27 tackles, one interception, and seven pass breakups. His sole interception came in the fourth quarter of their Holiday Bowl game against the University of South Carolina's Trojans to help seal their 23-21 victory. In his final season with Wisconsin in 2016, he had a career high season in interceptions and pass breakups with 4 interceptions and 12 pass-breakups. On November 26, 2016, he logged a 2 interception game against Minnesota.
Professional career
After what most analysts called an "above average" career at Wisconsin, he was projected to go undrafted by NFL.com. He was invited to the 2016 NFL Combine, where he performed in every workout besides the splits. He achieved a 4.02 second 20 yard shuttle, which ranked third best in his position. He attended the Wisconsin Badgers Pro day, where he chose to only do the 40 yard dash, broad jump, and three cone drill.
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40‑yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
177 lb (80 kg) |
31 in (0.79 m) |
8 3⁄8 in (0.21 m) |
4.51 s | 4.02 s | 6.92 s | 35 in (0.89 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
10 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine. | ||||||||||||
Arizona Cardinals
Shelton was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017.
Cincinnati Bengals
On September 4, 2017, Shelton was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad.