The Recruiting Guy

Shane Clenin adjusts to being a small fish in a big pond

Senior defensive tackle McTelvin Agim says offensive lineman Shane Clenin has become more technically sound at his right guard spot.

While college life hasn’t been a difficult adjustment for Arkansas freshman offensive lineman Shane Clenin, he admits the size of the schools is much different.

Clenin, 6-6, 295 pounds played for Jefferson High School in Festus, Missouri, a town of slightly more than 11,000 people.

"I had 300 kids in the high school I was in and there’s like 30,000 here," said Clenin, who enrolled in January. "So you’re walking around to class everywhere.”

His first day of classes was a challenge.

“They had a little map for us so it wasn’t as hectic as I thought it was going to be, but still I was almost late for my first class, of course,” Clenin said. “I was struggling trying to find that.”

“You’re like a small fish in a big pond, but I’ve gotten use to it.”

He chose the Hogs over scholarship offers from Northwestern, Iowa State, New Mexico, Colorado State, Illinois State and others. The intensity of college football is a step above.

“Just from a football aspect everybody is all fired up and all wanting to be here, which is all different from high school,” Clenin said. “It’s been really good so far and I’m just kind of excited to see where it goes from here.”

Clenin, who recorded 60 pancake blocks as a senior, is the first athlete from Jefferson to sign with a Division I school.

Often, the recruiting process can paint an unrealistic picture of the life of a D-I athlete, but not for Clenin. He said offensive line coach Kurt Anderson was upfront.

“You see more of the coaching side than we saw when we were in the recruiting process, but still everything he said he was going to do he’s done and then some,” Clenin said.

Clenin appreciates how the upperclassmen on the offensive line has embraced him and his freshman teammates.

“Frank Ragnow is a great leader and is a great role model and treats all of us nicely as does everybody,” Clenin said.