 He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft.His success in football started while in high school playing defense for the North Tahoe Lakers AA football team which went All State during his junior year and nearly going All State his senior year if it wasn't for losing their starting quarterback during their first playoff game to an ankle injury.The North Tahoe Lakers were undefeated that year due mainly because of the defense led by Shawn.