ASHLAND, Ohio — Adam Shaheen didn’t have anything left to prove in college, so Ashland University’s record-setting tight end is going pro.
A redshirt-junior and two-time Division II All-American, Shaheen announced Thursday he would skip his final year of eligibility to enter the 2017 NFL Draft, set for April 27 to 29 in Philadelphia.
“I have an opportunity right now and I want to take it,” said Shaheen, one of 42 nominees for the Harlon Hill Trophy (Division II football’s player of the year award).
The 6-foot-7, 277-pound Shaheen broke AU’s single-season record with 16 touchdown receptions last fall, which also stands as a Division II record for tight ends. In the past two years he had 127 catches for 1,670 yards and 26 TDs.
“I don’t know how he could have done any more,” AU coach Lee Owens said.
A graduate of Big Walnut High School in Sunbury, Shaheen began his collegiate athletic career as a basketball player at Division II Pitt-Johnstown. He appeared in 26 games as a freshman in 2013-14, averaging 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds a game.
The 22-year-old Shaheen transferred to Ashland to pursue football after one season at Pitt-Johnstown. He changed positions — he was a receiver in high school — and caught two passes for 85 yards as AU’s No. 3 tight end in 2014.
“I came in as a scrawny 205-pound guy, and I was just trying to get on the field any way I could,” Shaheen said. “I kept developing, and I had a good year two years ago. Even then, I wanted to have another great year.”
In 2015 Shaheen caught 70 passes for 803 yards and 10 touchdowns, setting the table for 2016. He packed on nearly 20 pounds of muscle during the offseason and began drawing the attention of NFL franchises.
“There have been too many to count. It’s a couple every day,” Owens said when asked how many scouts had visited campus in the fall. “He’s an underclassman, so they have to be careful about what they say.
“They ask about our seniors, then they follow him around.”
Shaheen tied AU’s single-game record with four TD catches in 45-7 Homecoming win over Northwood. A week earlier, in a 35-32 loss at Tiffin, he had 10 catches for 165 yards and three scores.
“He’s a warrior out there. He makes me want to throw him the ball,” AU quarterback Travis Tarnowski said after the Homecoming victory. “We just have a really good connection. It’s almost like he knows what I’m thinking before I’m thinking it.”
Owens said he and Shaheen talked about his future early in the season.
“We addressed those issues, which I think has really helped,” Owens said. “He knows he’s got to play every play. He’s being evaluated every play. If he doesn’t have a great today, there is no tomorrow.
“Fortunately, he’s a very mature young man. He’s not going to let that kind of attention distract from is concentration.”
Shaheen could become the fourth AU player selected in the NFL draft, joining Len Pettigrew (1971), Bill Overmyer (1972) and Jeris Pendleton (2012). Former AU All-American Jamie Meder was an undrafted free agent and started 15 games for the Cleveland Browns this season.
“I’ve been in college for four years, and I’ve had two good seasons,” Shaheen said. “I have an opportunity right now. My biggest thing was the door is open, to try to get my foot in and let’s go.”
Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University and dozens of high schools and universities throughout Ohio.
