#12

R.J. Shelton

Wide receiver for Michigan State. 2016: 53 catches, 789 receiving yards, 5 TD.

WR · Michigan State · #12

5′11″ · Beaver Dam, WI

Michigan State 2016 alumnus

The story

2016 wide receiver for Michigan State. 2016: 53 catches, 789 receiving yards, 5 TD.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Michigan State, 1,465 receiving yards — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

The week the volume broke through — put up 190 yds vs Northwestern.Northwestern · L 40-542016

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

Michigan State

2014–2016

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2014–2016

1 coach

2014–2016

Mark Dantonio

Michigan State

Played his entire career under Mark Dantonio.

2016 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Mark Dantonio — 26-13 over that span.

2014Michigan State11-2HC: Mark Dantonio · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2015Michigan State12-2HC: Mark Dantonio · Run-leaning

2016Michigan State3-9HC: Mark Dantonio · Run-leaning

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score percentiles

7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: long catch (97th percentile). Strength: rush yards (91st percentile).

Box-score rates (7)

Long catch#17 / 524 · 97th pct

Rush yards#23 / 257 · 91st pct

121

Rec yards#85 / 524 · 84th pct

789

Receptions#103 / 524 · 80th pct

Rec TDs#108 / 524 · 75th pct

Yards / catch#154 / 524 · 70th pct

14.9

Rush TDs#56 / 257 · 39th pct

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2016 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home7g	2.7	46.4	14.2	0.3
Road5g	6.8	92.8	13.8	0.6

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	4.7	75.3	14.2	0.7
Weeks 8+6g	4.2	56.2	13.8	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Pat Fitzgerald

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2016

Part-time starter

Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2016	Michigan State	53	789	14.9	5	--
2015	Michigan State	43	503	11.7	4	--
2014	Michigan State	16	173	10.8	2	--
Career		112	1,465	13.1	11	--

Season	Team
2016	Michigan State	18	121	448	19	--
2015	Michigan State	24	127	415	6	--
2014	Michigan State	21	148	793	--	--
Career		63	396	1,656	25	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2016

W 36–28

at Notre Dame

16 rush yds (3 car)

Edged out Notre Dame on the road in a shootout.

With T. O'Connor — 241 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 80.6 · 43 rush yds (10 car) · J. Hartbarger — 38 AVG · 42 LONG · 7 NO

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2016 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 28-13vs Furman	—	—	—	—	—
Wk 3	W 36-28@ Notre Dame	8	80	10.0	1	23
Wk 4	L 6-30vs Wisconsin	3	23	7.7	0	13
Wk 5	L 21-24@ Indiana	7	141	20.1	1	86	141-yard receiving day
Wk 6	L 14-31vs BYU	3	18	6.0	0	12
Wk 7	L 40-54vs Northwestern	7	190	27.1	2	86	Season-high 190 yds
Wk 8	L 17-28@ Maryland	7	89	12.7	0	21
Wk 9	L 23-32vs Michigan	2	57	28.5	0	34
Wk 10	L 27-31@ Illinois	7	80	11.4	1	17
Wk 11	W 49-0vs Rutgers	3	32	10.7	0	20
Wk 12	L 16-17vs Ohio State	1	5	5.0	0	5
Wk 13	L 12-45@ Penn State	5	74	14.8	0	39
Total		53	789	14.0	5	86

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology