BEREA, Ohio -- New Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Danny Shelton loves his Samoan heritage, and he takes every opportunity to let the world know just how proud he is of his family's background.
Shelton is the son of a Peruvian father and Samoan mother, and wore a lava-lava, traditional clothing of the Polynesian and Oceanic cultures, to the 2015 NFL Draft in the Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University in Chicago to represent his heritage.
"This Polynesian culture, we're a humble people, and any chance we get to be in the limelight and to be able to represent our people, our family, we take that chance, and that's what I wanted to do here at the draft," Shelton said in a conference call with the Cleveland media Thursday night.
"I knew I was going to be picked up some time, but I just wanted to make sure I'm representing my family, my culture, my university the right way, and that's representing my culture with this wardrobe."
In addition to his heritage, Shelton takes the responsibility of representing his family seriously. In fact, it was his love of family that nearly forced him to give up football and take care of his loved ones when his older brother, Shennon, was shot and killed in a wild day of violence in Auburn, Washington.
Shelton's older brother, Gaston, had been jumped by three men, including Olenthis Woods, who later pulled the trigger of a gun on both of Shelton's brothers, wounding one in the chest and hitting Shennon behind the ear.
"Honestly, I owe it all to the coaching staff, owe it all to the team, owe it all to the dog fans," Shelton said of staying with football and honoring his commitment to Washington rather than staying at home. "It was amazing how much they supported me throughout my four years, and I didn't have any doubt in myself.
"I knew that I was back home, I was in a better place, and I was just ready to play. That's what shaped me throughout the four years. Facing adversity, that prepared me for the next level, and I just feel confident to go into the league and play, and play the right way, play the way that I play."
The perseverance Shelton showed in his personal life is similar to the kind of tenacity he has shown on the football field.
In 53 career games with the Huskies, the 6-foot-2, 339-pound Shelton made 111 unassisted tackles and helped on 97 others for a total of 208 stops from the interior of the defensive line. He had 24.0 tackles for lost yardage, recovered seven fumbles, registered 11.5 sacks and had five additional hits on opposing quarterbacks.
During his final season with Washington, Shelton registered 93 total stops -- 53 solo tackles and 40 assists -- with 16.5 tackles for lost yardage, five fumble recoveries and three hits on opposing quarterbacks. He had nine sacks for 33 lost yards in 2014.
"It's all just mental discipline," Shelton said. "I prepared myself mentally and physically to go out and play over 70 snaps, and I'm the type of guy who's not going to go down if he gets a little bump. I played all of my junior season with a sprained shoulder, and that just explains my type of attitude, just have that warrior mentality."
And Shelton plans on bringing that same "warrior mentality" to the Browns and help a defensive unit that ranked last against the run last season after allowing 141.6 yards per game on the ground.
"I didn't know if I was coming here or not, but as soon as I got that phone call, I was smiling, and I'm still smiling," Shelton said. "It's exciting because of the fan support, the Dawg Pound. In social media, they've just given me nothing but love throughout this whole process, and it's crazy to think that now, I get to go and be a part of the Dawg Pound.
"As far as the defense, I'm expecting the same thing as far as producing, a run stopper. I'm also going to add to the pass rushing game. Those are the two main things I want to focus on this offseason."
