Former 5-star, Penn State WR Justin Shorter transfers to Florida

Justin Shorter, the former 5-star and heavily recruited receiver ended his Penn State tenure with 15 career catches and just 157 yards.

Justin Shorter’s career in Happy Valley was an interesting one. He entered the fold as the nation’s No. 1 WR, New Jersey’s No. 1 player overall and the eighth-best prospect of the 2018 high school class, according to 247 Sports.

Things didn’t quite go to plan during his first two seasons of college football, however, as he caught just three balls his first season before redshirting and just 12 during his redshirt-freshman year in 2019. The 6-foot-4 receiver, compared to Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons never caught more than three passes in a game and topped 30 yards receiving just once in his tenure with the Nittany Lions.

Now, he heads to Gainesville where he’ll pair with QB Kyle Trask under head coach Dan Mullen. The Gators, in desperate need of a playmaking wide receiver, seemed to check all of Shorter’s boxes and he made his decision known via Twitter just last week.

Despite new Penn State offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca and new wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield being in the mix, Shorter will head south to Florida much to the dismay of those who believed in him coming out of high school. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining but fills a big hole as the Gators lost Josh Hammond, Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain and Tyrie Cleveland to graduation this offseason.

We’ll wish you well, Justin, just not if you play against Penn State in any postseason game.