Shelton Felton

Title:
Outside Linebackers

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Shelton Felton returns to Rocky Top in 2020 after spending one year as the outside linebackers and defensive line coach at Akron. Felton was a quality control analyst for Tennessee during Jeremy Pruitt's first season as head coach in 2018.

THE FELTON FILE

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Born: June 12, 1979
Hometown: Cordele, Georgia
Education: Bachelor’s in social work (Troy, 2002); Master’s in education (Troy, 2008)
Playing Experience: Troy, DL (1999-2002)
Wife: Laquanda
Children: Alexius, Shelton, Jr., Shemori and Shelton III

COACHING HISTORY

2005-09: Crisp County (Ga.) High School, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2010-12: Dooly County (Ga.) High School, Defensive Coordinator
2013-14: Colquitt County (Ga.) High School, Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line
2015-16: Crisp County (Ga.) High School, Head Coach
2017: Chattanooga, Assistant Head Coach/Outside Linebackers
2018: Tennessee, Defensive Quality Control Analyst
2019: Akron, Outside Linebackers/Defensive Line
2020-present: Tennessee, Outside Linebackers

Akron (2019)
During his lone season with the Zips, Felton helped develop redshirt-senior linebacker John Lako into a first-team all-conference selection. Lako led the Mid-American Conference and ranked fifth in the nation with 138 total tackles in 2019.

Chattanooga (2017)
Prior to shining as a quality control analyst for the Vols in 2018, Felton spent one season as the outside linebackers coach at Chattanooga. He also held the title of assistant head coach.

With Felton's help, the Mocs had the top defense in the Southern Conference in 2017 and finished the year ranked No. 25 in the FCS in total defense, allowing just 326.4 yards per game.

Georgia High Schools (2005-16)
Felton began his coaching career in the high school ranks, where he spent time at three different high schools in Georgia.

Most recently, Felton was the head coach at Crisp County High School in Cordele, Georgia, for two seasons (2010-12). He was the first African-American head coach in the school's history and led an impressive turnaround in just two seasons at the helm. After going just 3-7 in Felton's first season as head coach in 2015, the Cougars went undefeated in the regular season and finished the year with a 13-1 record in 2016, advancing to the state semifinals for the first time in program history.

Under Felton's guidance, Markaviest “Big Cat” Bryant and Quay Walker became the first players in Crisp County history to garner All-America honors.

Following Crisp County's impressive turnaround in 2016, Felton was named the Georgia Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year, the Recruit GA Coach of the Year and the Region 1AAA Coach of the Year.

Before accepting the job as head coach at Crisp County, Felton spent two seasons as the run game coordinator and defensive line coach at Georgia high school powerhouse Colquitt County (2013-14). The Packers won the Class 6A State Championship in 2014, and Felton was named the Georgia Coaches Association Class 6A Assistant Coach of the Year.

Felton also spent three years as the defensive coordinator at Dooly County High School (2010-12), where he coached future Auburn All-American Montravious Adams. He began his coaching career at Crisp County as the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator from 2005-09. Throughout his prep coaching career, Felton helped elevate more than 20 players into Division I football careers.

Background
A native of Cordele, Georgia, Felton was a defensive lineman at Troy from 1999-02, where he earned a bachelor's degree in social work in 2002 and a master's degree in education in 2008. He also earned an E.D.S. in physical education from Jacksonville State in 2012.

Felton and his wife, Laquanda, have four children: Alexius, Shelton, Jr., Shemori and Shelton III.