Huskies links: Coleman Shelton has been ‘a journeyman’ in 10 starts on UW offensive line

Huskies coach Chris Petersen will meet with reporters this afternoon for the final time before UW’s 2 p.m. Saturday game against California at Husky Stadium. Meet with some links right now:

--- Here’s our story today about the Huskies re-worked offensive line, which now features three freshmen starters -- and Coleman Shelton, who has appeared at three different positions in 10 career starts. An excerpt:

When the Washington Huskies began their Wednesday practice last week, Coleman Shelton was their starting left tackle.

By the time it ended, starting left guard Jake Eldrenkamp was injured, and Shelton moved one spot to his right to take Eldrenkamp’s place.

By Saturday, Shelton, a third-year sophomore from Pasadena, Calif., was starting at left guard against Utah State — his 10th career start at his third different position in two seasons.

No sweat.

“I felt comfortable with it,” Shelton said. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

He’s probably used to moving around by now. As a redshirt freshman in 2014, Shelton was a surprise starter at right tackle in UW’s season opener after senior Ben Riva was sidelined by a knee injury. Riva’s injuries persisted, and Shelton wound up starting seven games in his place.

Coaches considered moving him to center in spring, but a shoulder injury kept him out for the duration and he remained at right tackle when preseason camp began. But when starting left guard Dexter Charles was forced into retirement due to injury in mid-August, Eldrenkamp, who had been working as the team’s No. 1 left tackle, moved inside to guard, and Shelton bounced from right tackle to left tackle.

He started the Huskies’ first two games there until Eldrenkamp was banged up during practice last week.

“He’s been a little bit of a journeyman,” Huskies offensive line coach Chris Strausser said of Shelton. “The one thing he kind of always hangs his hat on is being a great competitor, and having tremendous knowledge of the game. So for him to switch from position to position in a sense is easier than a lot of guys in the group because he’s got such a good knowledge of all the positions.”

--- And since it’s Thursday, we also have our five things to watch in college football this week.

--- Trey Adams, UW’s true freshman left tackle, is excelling thanks in part to his “nasty streak.”

--- KOMO has this story about Huskies kickers Cameron Van Winkle and Tristan Vizcaino.

--- Don’t compare Jake Browning to Jared Goff just yet, Chris Petersen says (though Petersen came close to comparing Browning’s skillset to former Boise State star Kellen Moore).

--- Goff’s star continues to rise as he breaks records.

--- ESPN’s Mel Kiper projects Goff as the No. 3 pick in this year’s NFL draft.

--- UCLA star linebacker Myles Jack, a Bellevue High School product, will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury. The Huskies don’t play the Bruins this season.

--- Justin Wilcox called USC’s defensive performance against Stanford “unacceptable.”

--- Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams says his finger is good. Like he would say if it wasn’t.

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 11:51 PM with the headline "Huskies links: Coleman Shelton has been ‘a journeyman’ in 10 starts on UW offensive line."