Former Penn State WR Justin Shorter transfers to Florida
A former five-star wide receiver on Rivals has opted to spend the remainder of his collegiate career at the University of Florida.
Justin Shorter, who spent the previous two seasons at Penn State, has officially transferred to UF after returning to the Swamp this weekend for his highly-anticipated official visit.
Shortly after Christmas, the Northeast native made his first-ever visit to Gainesville but was unable to meet with football personnel due to the dead period and the program already being in Miami for Orange Bowl practices.
However, this weekend provided Shorter with a whole lot of one-on-one time with Dan Mullen's staff, as well as the opportunity to really dissect the football program. He had been considered a Gators lean for several weeks, so there wasn't much drama to begin with, but this weekend's multi-day visit officially sealed the deal.
A native of Monmouth Junction (N.J.), Shorter appeared in three games as a true freshman at PSU, hauling in three catches for 20 yards but still managed to redshirt.
Shorter then followed that up with 12 catches for 137 yards in 2019 before opting to enter the transfer portal in late November. His three-catch, 28-yard outing against Ohio State was his most productive game this season. That happened to be Shorter's final game in a Nittany Lions uniform as well.
The Gators will be without Van Jefferson, Josh Hammond, Freddie Swain and Tyrie Cleveland for next season, so they will certainly benefit from having a player like Shorter on the roster. However, it's unclear if the 6-foot-4 pass catcher will apply for a waiver and be approved in order to immediately play as a redshirt sophomore in 2020.
Shorter was tabbed as an Under Armour All-American and Rivals100 prospect in the 2018 class. He finished the cycle as the nation's third-ranked receiver, 18th-ranked player regardless of position, and top-ranked prospect in the state of New Jersey.
Shorter committed to the Nittany Lions during the summer prior to his junior year, and then made everything official roughly a year and a half later. James Franklin's program received over a dozen visits during Shorter's high school career as well.
Michigan, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Miami, Wisconsin, North Carolina and West Virginia were some additional schools that extended offers in high school.
Adam Friedman, a Rivals national recruiting analyst who covers the Mid-Atlantic region, had this to say once Shorter was elevated to five-star status as a senior.
“Shorter has been trending up in the rankings for a while now and his performance at the Under Armour All-America Game and in the practices helped push him up to five-star status. The Penn State signee’s size is obvious but watching his body control when he is running routes and leaping to catch the ball is tremendous. Shorter will definitely give defensive backs headaches in the red zone because of that size, catch radius, and his reliable hands.”
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