Having patience is sometimes difficult but is no doubt necessary for long-term success and that’s something that Malik Shannon is now very well aware of.
Shannon is a junior athlete (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) on the Imani Christian football team that has named a first team all-conference players as a wide receiver. Despite his success, a few days ago, Shannon was still waiting for his first Division I offer. The lack of apparent interest from colleges had him wondering if he still wanted to continue playing football.
That feeling changed yesterday as Shannon not only received his first offer but also picked up two others. The day started with an offer from Toledo, followed by ones from Akron and Kent State.
Pittsburgh Sports Now spoke to Shannon about his memorable day and his mindset prior to receiving the big news from Toledo.
“I’m not going to lie to you, it was getting to that point seeing all my friends and teammates getting offers, I was wondering if this is really the sport for me and is this really what I want to keep doing,” said Shannon. “It gets to a certain point that I was wondering about that. I was reaching out to coaches and teams and I wasn’t getting any response back from anyone. I was really ready to give up on myself.”
“Four days after I started to really think about that, I got that first division-one offer from Toledo. I have to give credit to my brothers and my cousin for really keeping me on the right path and being positive with me and getting me to not give up on myself. I got that first one and they’re rolling in after that. When the Toledo linebackers coached called and officially offered me, I was just shocked. I started to think that all my dreams were coming true. All the late nights grinding and working out, all the late nights of me studying, all the thoughts I’ve had about what my life is going to be after high school, then that first division one offer came and I couldn’t believe it.”
Shannon believes now that this is just the start of his recruiting and is excited to show schools more of what he can do during his senior season at Imani Christian.
With his 6-foot-4, 225 pound athletic frame, Shannon has played wide receiver, safety and linebacker in high school and for now thinks that linebacker is his future position.
“I used to always think that scoring touchdowns was the best and most exciting thing but it doesn’t really matter now,” said Shannon. “I believe that I can become a great defensive player because I’m a great tackler, I can hit and I have great coverage skills.”
