Christopher Shafto '17 Recruiting Profile

So this is me, Christopher Shafto, 17 years old, 6’9”, 340 lbs., offensive left tackle for the Saint Mary Gaels, son to my wonderful mom and brother to my only sister.  I have been told by some coaches/recruiters that “we can teach him how to play, but we can’t teach him how to be that big”. I have been defined a lot just by my size alone, but there is more to me than that.  Since I went to Catholic school, I was unable to play football until my Freshman year at Saint Mary High School.  But the first day I sat in front of our Head Coach, Michael Sheridan and spoke to him about the team and the football program, I knew this is what I wanted to do, not only in just high school, but, also in college and hopefully all the way to the NFL! I work hard and I play hard.  During the off-season, I train at FASST to keep up my strength and agility until the season starts up again.

I have been classified as learning disabled my entire school life.  During my early school years it set me back a lot, but I have learned to work hard and do my best to overcome some of the learning disabilities.  Although I still have a problem with test taking, my other classwork and projects have improved considerably.  I am very proud that I have made great strides in this area.

I have learned a lot and have great respect for my mom.  She raised my sister and I all by herself and did an amazing job with the limited resources she has.  What I have learned from my mom, among other things, are pride, be hard working and be thankful, all of which I use in my daily life.  I am thankful that God gave the size and strength to play the best football I can and I am proud of how I am able to play and I work the hardest I can to succeed for my team.

I am looking for a college not only that I can play great football for, but also that has a great academic program.  I want to make my mom proud in how I play on the field and how I succeed in the classroom.