When Gators fans last saw Justin Shorter, he was lying motionless on the field at Raymond James Stadium after taking a vicious hit over the middle of the field in the closing minutes of the Gasparilla Bowl.
While that injury fortunately ended up not being significant, it was a painful and shocking conclusion to a disappointing and frustrating season for both Shorter and his team.
While Shorter finished second on the team in receiving last season, he did so with just 41 catches for 550 yards and three touchdowns. Those are decent numbers, but they’re nothing special. As a team, of course, the Gators went 6-7 and got their coaching staff fired.
All of that persuaded Shorter to push off the NFL Draft for another year and return to UF for his redshirt senior season.
“Me and my family sat down, and I just felt like just ending the way that we did, I feel like I can do so much more to help this team win games,” Shorter said. “I feel like that was the main goal of me coming back. I just want to come back and be with all my teammates, all my brothers and really win, go out with a bang.
“We’ve got a brand-new coaching staff. We’ve got players that are hungry and just hate losing. Like me, just thinking about last year, every loss, it makes me so angry, upset. Everyone’s working so much harder. I’d really say every single player is just so pissed off from last year. We’re all just trying to come back and get after it really.”
Receivers coach Keary Colbert said that he’s seen a highly motivated version of Shorter in his four months or so working with him.
“That guy works his tail off; I’ll tell you that. Every single day, every single play,” Colbert said. “Sometimes, I’ve got to kind of slow him down and get him to kind of take a little off of his body as far as on an off day and stuff like that because he always wants to go. He’s always trying to get better, which is a good thing. He’s been a joy to be around and to coach because it means something to him. I think he’s very excited about the opportunity that he has this year, and I’m excited to be working with him.
“It means something to him. He wants to compete. He wants to dominate. He wants to make his play. He wants to be out there when it means something. So, he’s very intense, and, like I said, I’m excited to be working with him. You always want guys like that on your team, for sure.”
One of the biggest points of emphasis for Shorter this spring is to get better at creating separation against defensive backs. While the quarterback play wasn’t very good last year, Shorter and the rest of the receivers didn’t make things easy for them. Too often, defensive backs were stuck to them like glue.
Shorter said that he thinks he’s becoming a more technically sound receiver under Colbert’s tutelage.
“He’s definitely teaching us how to be quicker at the line and not spend so much time at the line of scrimmage because everything needs to have a vertical presence to it,” he said. “So, he’s really just teaching us to just get up, pop your feet and really get a vertical presence.
“But not even that, just route-running in general, counting steps. I should be able to close my eyes, line up at the 13-yard line and take seven steps, and I’ll be at 14 yards, and I should know that so when gametime comes, I’m not lining up trying to count ‘One, two, three, four.’ All that matters. So, I would definitely say small stuff like that he’s definitely added to my toolbox, so I’m thankful for it.”
Shorter also said that he’s trying to use his size to his advantage more this season. He’s basically a small tight end at 6-foot-5 and 228 pounds, but he rarely used that size to box out much smaller defenders and make catches over the top.
“I would say just learning how to control my body, like, top of my routes, counting steps, stuff like that,” he said. “Really working on those jump balls, really going and getting the ball instead of letting it come to me. Just small stuff like that.”
Shorter could’ve left after the 2021 season and probably gone on day three of the draft. If all goes according to plan, he’ll go much higher than that next year. His goal is to be a First Team All-American this season.
“I just want to be the best,” Shorter said. “I want my name under [Kyle] Pitts over there in the stadium. I feel like you’ve just got to put the time in and every day just do it, no matter how you feel.”