Although he grew up in Columbus about 15 minutes from Ohio Stadium, Antonio Shelton made it clear Wednesday where his allegiance stands when asked if he was a fan of the Buckeyes as a kid.

“Come on man, next question,” Shelton said.

Despite this, the defensive tackle is excited to return home and play in front of plenty of friends and family on Saturday.

“It’s cool, obviously,” Shelton said. “It’s always cool to have your family there, and people that I know and grew up with. I have a couple friends who play for Ohio State — guys that I’ve trained with, played little league football with, played high school ball with, just guys that I’ve known for a long time.”

“It’s a big stage and a really big opportunity to play football. That’s what you ask for.”

Aside from returning to his hometown, Shelton understands that Saturday will provide Penn State with the biggest test it’s faced all season. The menacing 6’2″, 311-pound defensive lineman currently has 10 total tackles on the season and 0.5 sacks, but Shelton’s overall leadership on the defensive side of the ball has proved equally important to his playing ability.

As James Franklin would like to say, Shelton has served as a “culture-driver” throughout his time as a Nittany Lion, and the tackle assured that intensity remains high for the defense and the team as a whole this week.

“[Tuesday]’s practice was intense,” Shelton said. “Everyone knows where we’re going, who we’re playing, and what’s at stake. But you can’t let emotions control you. Everybody is preparing how we always do. It’s always 1-0. We know we just need to stick to our formula and not deviate from it — play up to our standard.”

While the Buckeyes have star athletes virtually everywhere, the focus for Brent Pry’s defense will likely be on Justin Fields. The quarterback has put up some ridiculous numbers this year and is a clear Heisman contender. He’s managed to throw for 2,164 yards through the air thus far for a whopping 31 touchdowns and just one interception.

Shelton had high praise for the Buckeyes’ signal-caller, but also mentioned that the Nittany Lions have had valuable experience against players similar to Fields.

“He’s very mobile, he can throw the ball very well,” Shelton said. “But I think we’ve faced quarterbacks throughout this season that can also [do those things]. Pitt’s quarterback was very similar to that. He was able to extend plays. But I think Justin’s a very good player, obviously.”

While Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett did provide a good test for Penn State’s defense, it’d be tough to argue that he’s anywhere close to the same tier as Fields in terms of pure talent. Shelton knows that Fields will be one of the toughest quarterbacks that he and the rest of the defense will face this season.

“He’s a big-play threat and can also pull the ball and run it,” Shelton said. “He can really extend plays, so we just need to get there and whenever you get there you gotta finish the play. He’s a spark to their offense when they need it.”

The Columbus native echoed Franklin’s sentiments when discussing Ohio State’s ability to make big plays. While he know it will be a challenge to slow down the Buckeyes completely, Shelton understands what the Nittany Lions need to do in order to leave Ohio State with a win and, in his case, have a successful homecoming.

“It’s just going to be about how we respond to adversity,” Shelton said. “[Coach Franklin] isn’t saying that we’re just going to give those plays up. No, but like Coach Pry says, we have to make them earn it. They’re going to make plays. Those guys are on scholarship too. It’s just a matter of who’s going to make those plays the most consistently, and how we respond when they do.”