ASHLAND — Before he was a prized NFL prospect, Adam Shaheen was an undersized basketball convert trying to find his footing as Ashland University’s third-string tight end.
Logan Slavinski took the future Division II All-American under his wing.
A 2011 Clear Fork graduate, Slavinski was a senior and AU’s starting tight end in 2014 when Shaheen arrived on campus as a walk-on. Little did Slavinski know he was mentoring a player some experts are comparing to All-Pro Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots in advance of this week’s NFL Draft.
“When he first started coming to summer workouts, we realized pretty quickly that he had a different skill set than the rest of the tight ends,” said Slavinski, a two-time Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honorable mention selection and coach on Chioke Bradley’s staff at Mansfield Senior. “Even back then you could see the potential, but none of us realized what he would become.
“That is a testament to Adam and the work he put in. He is a product of the process and now he’s put himself in this amazing position.”
Anyone who follows AU football or spent any amount of time reading up on the NFL Draft knows Shaheen’s story by now. He graduated from Big Walnut High School in Sunbury in 2013 and played one season of college basketball at Division II Pitt-Johnstown, where he averaged 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds a game in 2013-14. After attending an Ohio State football game against Wisconsin with his father, he decided he would give football another try — he was a receiver and safety at Big Walnut.
When he arrived at AU, he barely weighed 200 pounds.
“He was a big athlete and a former basketball player, so he was intriguing,” said AU tight ends coach and Mansfield Senior product Reggie Gamble. “By the time football season came around, he still only weighed about 225 or 230. He looked like a beanpole.”
Playing behind Slavinski and fellow senior Matt Schweitzer, Shaheen worked his way onto AU’s travel squad. He played in nine games and caught just two passes, one Slavinski remembers vividly.
“We were playing at (Division II and GLIAC powerhouse) Grand Valley and he made a big play for us,” Slavinski said of Shaheen’s 42 yard reception that set up a field goal early in the fourth quarter of AU’s 37-14 win. “It was the first time we had won up there in a while.”
As for Shaheen, he was just happy to have mentors like Gamble and Slavinski.
“I had never played tight end, so I had a lot to learn,” Shaheen said Wednesday afternoon. “I couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Logan and Reggie and Matt Schweitzer.
“I can’t even begin to say how much Reggie has helped me out. He’s the guy I spent the most time with and he’s the guy who has helped develop me the most to this point.”
With Slavinski and Schweitzer both graduated, a bulked-up Shaheen — by that time he weighed 260 pounds — took over the starting role in 2015 and promptly rewrote the AU record book. He caught 70 passes for 803 yards and 10 touchdowns and was a American Football Coaches Association All-American.
“He told me he wanted to work and normally when kids say that, you take it with a grain of salt until they prove it,” Gamble said. “All he has done is prove it. I’ve watched him work at this, so it is especially satisfying.”
Last fall, an even bigger Shaheen — he was up to his current weight of 277 pounds — caught 57 passes for 867 yards and a school record 16 touchdowns. He was again an AFCA All-American and, just as Slavinski and Schweitzer had done for him, Shaheen took it upon himself to mentor AU’s young tight ends.
“Matt Schweitzer’s little brother, Mike, was a freshman last year,” Shaheen said. “It was fun to help out like those guys had done for me.”
As the postseason awards piled up, Shaheen made headlines in early January when he declared himself eligible for the NFL draft with a year of college eligibility still remaining. Not many Division II underclassmen have ever done so.
“We would love to have him back, but he doesn’t have anything left to prove,” AU coach and Madison graduate Lee Owens said at Shaheen’s pro day in Massillon in March. “I don’t know how he could have done any more.”
Shaheen plans to watch the NFL Draft with his family in Columbus, but he attended AU’s spring game last weekend and had a chance to visit with his former mentor.
“I talked to him at the spring game and he’s really enjoying the process,” Slavinski said. “I think he’s going to be successful because he’s an extremely smart individual and he’s like a sponge. He’s very coachable and he’s willing to work at his craft.”
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.
