Florida receiver Justin Shorter announced on Instagram he will forgo his remaining eligibility and declare for the NFL Draft. The redshirt junior won’t play in the Gators bowl game.
“I am excited for what the future holds and thank everyone for your continued prayers and support,” Shorter said. “Always a Gator.”
Shorter was the No. 8 overall player in the 2018 recruiting class per the 247Sports Composite Rankings and started his college career at Pennsylvania State University. After two seasons at Penn State, Shorter transferred to Florida ahead of the 2020 season.
In three seasons in Gainesville, Shorter caught 95 passes for 1395 yards and eight touchdowns. This season, the veteran receiver racked up a career-high 577 yards, finishing second on the team in receptions and yards.
Florida also lost a pair of skill position players to the transfer portal as redshirt freshman receiver Daejon Reynolds and redshirt junior running back Lorenzo Lingard announced their intentions to exit the program.
Reynolds announced his intention to transfer on Twitter in a statement Wednesday.
“I want to thank everyone in the Florida football program for everything they’ve done to this point,” Reynolds said. “Also want to thank the coaches that really believed in me and truly know what I can do.”
The Springfield, Illinois, native signed with the Gators as a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. After redshirting his first season, he started to see the field at the end of this season, including a breakout game against Vanderbilt.
Reynolds caught eight passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns against the Commodores, and finished his Florida career with 12 catches for 239 yards.
Lingard announced his decision to transfer Thursday, first reported by 247Sports. The redshirt junior also tweeted out a brief thank you to UF.
The Orange City, Florida, product never found a significant role in Gainesville after transferring from Miami in 2020. Lingard was the No. 25 player in the 2018 recruiting class per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, but only saw 29 touches at Florida.
The Gators have now had 10 players either enter the portal or announce intentions to enter the portal this season. The transfer portal officially opens Dec. 5.
Contact Topher Adams at tadams@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Topher_Adams.
Topher Adams is a fourth-year communications major and in his fourth semester with the Alligator. He previously covered football, baseball and women's basketball. He also enjoys professional lacrosse and Major League Soccer.
