Penn State football WR Justin Shorter needs to overcome pressure

Overcoming injuries can be difficult. Penn State football wide receiver Justin Shorter is finding that out first-hand for the second time.

The road to football stardom has been all but easy for Penn State football wide receiver, Justin Shorter. Before Shorter became a five-star recruiting prospect out of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, the young star was working on getting his broken ankle healed before he had the chance to retake the field at South Brunswick High School.

At that time, Shorter wasn’t exactly the star he’s looking to become today. While he was recovering from his ankle injury, nobody knew Shorter’s potential quite yet. Eventually, he showed everybody he was the real deal by earning five-star ratings from recruiting platforms across the nation. Soon, he would land in Penn State where he was ready to take over Happy Valley.

Unfortunately, Shorter’s college career would get a similar start to his High School career. After appearing in only three games, the Freshman would be forced to miss the rest of the 2018 season due to a dislocated knee cap, which required him to sit out.

Now, nobody is necessarily in a panic for Shorter. After all, he’s overcome injuries in his career before and came back better than ever. The difference this time, though is the fact that Shorter has much higher expectations this time around. Before, he was the kid with potential who got injured. This time around, he’s five-star, Pennsylvania State wide receiver, Justin Shorter.

Is the pressure on for Shorter?

Everybody believes a young Justin Shorter can make a comeback. While the wideout believes so himself, there could also be a mini-mental factor, which affects his game. While Shorter knows he has the talent to be one of the nation’s best wideouts, the pressure could absolutely factor in on him getting off to a slow start if he overthinks.

"“He needs to remove all his anxiety and let me carry that. That’s my job,” Parker said. “He just needs to be a young, fun kid who’s gifted and goes out and has fun and plays. If Justin Shorter does that, and the entire room does that, everybody, including us, is going to be happy with the result.”"

Recently, Penn State’s wide receivers coach Gerad Parker discussed Shorter’s upcoming season. He highlighted the mental aspect of the injury being the most hardened battle that Shorter will have to overcome. According to Centre Times Daily’s Bret Pallotto, Parker has been working to remove the pressure out of Shorter’s head — because while the young wideout might sound as confident as ever, he could be feeling the pressure deep down.

The hope is that history repeats itself with Justin Shorter. He’s been down this road before, and the first time he came back and established himself as one of the nation’s best. He now has the opportunity to make a similar comeback, but this time it will be in front of the NCAA. There’s no doubt Shorter possesses the talent that will help him accomplish his goals — but the mental thoughts is what he needs to clear out of his head before re-introducing himself to the Lions.