When No. 5 Penn State travels to No. 13 Minnesota on Nov. 9 for a massive Big Ten matchup, the Nittany Lions will be without starting defensive tackle Antonio Shelton. Coach James Franklin announced on Tuesday that Shelton, a redshirt junior, has been suspended for one game after he spit at Michigan State offensive lineman Matt Allen during the fourth quarter of a 28-7 win last Saturday.
Shelton was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejected from the game. The Big Ten conference also issued an official public reprimand and supported Penn State's decision. The conference did not expand on the punishment. After the Michigan State game, Shelton took to Twitter to apologize for his actions.
I would like to apologize for my actions during tonight’s game. That was extremely selfish behavior. I misrepresented my coach, my school and my team. That’s not who we are and that’s not who I am. I represent more than myself, this won’t happen again.
— Antonio Shelton (@_groovy55) October 27, 2019
Franklin said that, in Shelton's place, sophomore PJ Mustipher and senior Robert Windsor are expected to see an increase in snaps. In fact, both Mustipher and Windsor have more tackles on the season -- 21 and 22, respectively -- than Shelton, who has nine. Either way, Franklin uses a healthy rotation along the Nittany Lions' defensive line anyway.
"We view (Mustipher) as a starter basically for us anyway," Franklin said. "We think Rob can handle more reps. We think PJ can handle more reps, and I think that's how it will play out ... You'll see most of (Shelton's) reps split up between Rob and PJ."
The Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers will kick off at noon ET on Nov. 9.
