Bills’ Justin Shorter explains decision to transfer in college
Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Justin Shorter has had an interesting journey to the NFL. It’s not quite rags to riches, but it’s unique.
Coming out of high school, Shorter was the top-ranked wideout recruit in the nation. He took his talents to Penn State but transfered–That never happens if things are going right and they were not. Injuries and other circumstances slowed him down.
Fast forward to today, the fifth-round rookie of the Bills said moving schools had very much helped him in the end, in a motivational sense.
“I remember after I transfered to Florida, there were always questions about like my hands,” Shorter said via video conference. “All that, it’s just noise, but I remember screenshotting it and putting it as my screensaver… It was definitely a motivating thing and now I feel like I won’t drop a single ball.”
“Mental toughness is a big thing for me,” Shorter added.
Specifically on transfering, Shorter described it as a challenge.
“Going from Penn State to Florida, it was definitely tough at first. Initially, leaving somewhere and going somewhere else, there is that uncertainty,” Shorter told the Buffalo News. “I just had to trust myself and just go out there and really just put that time and effort in. I feel like once I was able to focus and just put that work in, everything started to carry over for me. But it was definitely tough at first.”
All in all, his battle changing schools and teams might’ve actually helped him get picked by the Bills. General manager Brandon said the team pulled the curtain back on who Shorter really was as a person during his pre-draft visit to Buffalo. Clearly the Bills liked what they saw.
“You never know their journeys. These are not robots. Life happens to people for various reasons and sometimes people hit obstacles, but we feel that his best football could and should be ahead of him if he puts in the work,” Beane said. “He acknowledged that there’s more in his game.”
At Florida, Shorter’s best season was in 2021 when he had 41 catches for 550 yards and three touchdowns. His catches dropped to 29 last year, but his yardage jumped to 577 with two touchdowns.
At 6-foot-4, Shorter said he tries to use his size to his advantage as much as possible. Look for a motivated player that’s going to be physical… and one that’s still carrying a chip on his shoulder.
Shorter said he’s planning to keep the receipts.
“I’ll just say, I definitely know every single wideout that had went before me and know all the teams that picked them,” Shorter said. “I definitely know when I get my opportunity I’m going to tear this league up.”
