Perhaps no coach has taken better advantage of the NCAA loosening transfer restrictions in recent years than Dan Mullen.
In 2018, he brought in receivers Van Jefferson from Ole Miss and Trevon Grimes from Ohio State and defensive tackle Adam Shuler from West Virginia. The following winter, he landed edge rusher Jonathan Greenard from Louisville. He’s signed 10 scholarship players out of the transfer portal in the last two recruiting cycles.
So far, everyone who has transferred into the program under his watch has either produced at a high level and gotten an opportunity to play in the NFL or still has a chance to do so.
Indeed, Mullen is a transfer portal maestro.
Among the transfers trying to keep that tradition going this season is Justin Shorter. He transferred in from Penn State prior to last season and figures to be one of Emory Jones’ go-to targets this season.
While he’s being counted on to keep UF’s passing game afloat post-Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts now, Mullen admitted that he initially had some reservations about Shorter after he entered the transfer portal. Former five-star recruits don’t just wind up in the transfer portal unless something’s gone wrong.
“Any time somebody goes in the transfer portal, the question’s why,” Mullen said. “So, there’s always the initial hesitation. ‘Why’s this guy in the portal? What made him go into the transfer portal?’ And here’s a guy from New Jersey that’s this five-star recruit, and what’s the whole reasoning behind him being in the portal? So, I always have some hesitation about that stuff.”
While Shorter’s lofty ranking in high school excited fans and probably even some of his new teammates when he committed to the Gators, Mullen said that wasn’t a factor in their decision to pursue him. They lost four senior wide receivers following the 2019 season and needed to restock on weapons. As they did their research, Shorter checked off all of the boxes.
“I don’t really pay attention to stars too much,” Mullen said. “They never ask me for my eval. I don’t know [who evaluated] those people to hand them the stars. So, to me … you’re going in and you’re immediately watching, ‘Do we have a need at that position? Do you have a need within what year that guy is? Is there a need within that role on the team? Do they fit?’ And then most importantly, ‘Do they fit talent-wise? Are they talented enough to be here? Do they fit the program?
“I’ll be perfectly honest with you. When he was in the portal, I had a bunch of hesitations. After getting to meet him, know him and find out about him, they were quickly washed away. You go around and ask guys around our program, ‘Hey, no one outworks that guy.’ But that’s what our program is known for. Then you realize this guy is the exact fit of what we were looking for when he became available in the portal.”
Shorter made an immediate impact in 2020 as a key member of the rotation. He caught 25 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. His catch-and-score on a crossing route against Georgia shifted the momentum to the Gators’ sideline in what eventually became a dominant victory. He followed that up the next week by making an incredible leaping touchdown grab while surrounded by defenders in the side of the end zone against Arkansas.
The week after that, he caught five passes for 94 yards against Vanderbilt.
He fizzled out after that, however, catching just nine passes over the final five games, including a reception-less game against Alabama. He’s tried to become more consistent in all phases of his game this offseason, and he’s impressed Mullen with his work ethic.
“I think one of the things I’ve seen from him, and if you ask most of the people on our team and even the coaching staff, is his work ethic of how he comes to work every single day,” Mullen said. “From the minute at the start of practice to the end, he is grinding, giving you everything that he has.
“The great thing of that is you see it in the results. I think he’s playing at a much, much higher level than he did last year. Much more consistent level, much bigger playmaker level than he did last year. It’s not a surprise with how hard he works day in and day out. You see that improvement.”
Shorter’s college career hasn’t gone the way he thought it would when he enrolled at Penn State in 2018. He couldn’t find playing time there and chose to hit the reset button at Florida. We’ve heard that storyline before. Will Shorter’s story have a familiar ending as well?
“I feel like my journey has been crazy,” Shorter said. “Going to Penn State and then going to a little small college and taking some classes there and just being at home, I feel like it really just changed my mindset a lot. I feel like my thing is ever since I started playing football in high school, I didn’t stop working. Setbacks happen, but as long as you just keep on working, keep on working, you know that it’s going to come through.”