Cecil Shorts

Cecil Carlon Shorts III (born December 22, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver. He attended Collinwood High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and later the University of Mount Union, where he played for the Mount Union Purple Raiders football team. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Cecil Shorts III
refer to caption
Shorts with the Jacksonville Jaguars
No. 10, 18, 84
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1987-12-22) December 22, 1987
Kent, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Cleveland (OH) Collinwood
College:Mount Union
NFL Draft:2011 / Round: 4 / Pick: 114
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× First-team AP Little All-American (2009, 2010)
  • D3Football.com Offensive Player of the Year (2009)
  • NCAA Division III National Champion (2008)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:229
Receiving yards:2,979
Receiving touchdowns:14
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Shorts attended Collinwood High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he played quarterback on the football team that his father, Cecil Shorts, Jr., coached.[1][2]

College career

During his freshman season, Shorts suffered an injury that kept him from playing the entire year. In 2007, he was the backup quarterback, along with Kurt Rocco, to Greg Micheli, but was 16 of 24 passing for 209 yards, made 12 receptions, three for a touchdown, for 289 and ran for 108 yards with two touchdowns in 14 games played. Shorts switched to wide receiver after Pierre Garçon graduated, and immediately became the top receiver for Mount Union. In 2008, Shorts caught 77 passes for 1,484 yards and 23 touchdowns, which set an Ohio Athletic Conference record.[2] Shorts helped Mount Union win their 10th NCAA Division III National Championship, at Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl XXXVI.

In 2009, he was named the D3Football.com National Offensive Player of the Year after recording 100 receptions for 1,736 yards with 19 touchdowns. For his efforts, he earned Associated Press first-team Little All-America honors following the season.[3] In the 2009 NCAA Division III National Football Championship on December 19, 2009 against the UW–Whitewater Warhawks, Shorts caught 10 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. The Purple Raiders lost, however, by a score of 38–28.[4]

In 2010, Shorts' play was hampered by an ankle injury that prevented him from playing in three games. He finished the season with 18 receiving touchdowns, three return touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. He earned Associated Press first-team Little All-America honors for the second consecutive year following the season.[5] Shorts had 4,705 receiving yards for 63 touchdowns in his career.[6] He was considered a top wide receiver prospect in the 2011 NFL Draft.[7]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 11+3⁄4 in
(1.82 m)		 205 lb
(93 kg)		 31+5⁄8 in
(0.80 m)		 9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		4.59 s1.59 s2.54 s4.07 s6.50 s34+1⁄2 in
(0.88 m)		9 ft 6 in
(2.90 m)		21 reps
All values from 2011 NFL Scouting Combine.[8]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Shorts was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 114th overall pick (4th round) in the 2011 NFL Draft.[9][10] Shorts is the highest drafted player in Mount Union history and first player drafted by the Jaguars from a Division III school in franchise history. Shorts played sparingly in his rookie season, catching only two passes for 30 yards and a touchdown in 10 games. He missed the final six games in 2011 with a hamstring injury. In 2012, despite Jacksonville sharing an NFL-worst record of 2–14 with the Kansas City Chiefs, Shorts was a bright spot, leading the team in receiving yards (979), yards per reception (17.8), and touchdowns (7), with five touchdowns going for 40 yards or longer. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve on December 24, 2012 due to a concussion. In 2013, Shorts recorded 66 catches for 777 yards and three touchdowns. He was placed on injured reserve on December 17, 2013 with a groin injury. Shorts caught 53 catches for 577 yards and 1 touchdown. Shorts became a free agent after the 2014 season.

Houston Texans

On March 16, 2015, Shorts signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Houston Texans.[11] On November 22, 2015, Shorts threw a touchdown pass to running back Alfred Blue on a trick play against the New York Jets.[12] On June 18, 2016, Shorts signed a pay cut reducing his salary to $1.2 million with $750,000 in bonuses.[13] On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Texans.[14]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On September 6, 2016, Shorts was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[15] He was placed on injured reserve on December 6, 2016 after tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL.[16]

NFL statistics
YearTeamGPGSRECYDsAVGTD
2011JAX 10023015.01
2012JAX 1495597917.87
2013JAX 13136677711.83
2014JAX 13125355710.51
2015HOU 1144248411.52
2016TB 951115213.80
Career7043229297913.014

References
  1. Turner, Jamie (October 4, 2008). "Shorts, Kmic lead offensive avalanche as Mount Union overwhelms Baldwin-Wallace, 48–3". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  2. Popovich, Mike (August 12, 2009). "Mount Union's Cecil Shorts III may get shot at his old QB position". cantonrep.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  3. "ACU OL Washington named Little All-American". reporternews.com. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  4. "Warhawks charge to D-III title". Beloit Daily News. December 21, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  5. Pluto, Terry (December 17, 2010). "Mount Union's Cecil Shorts III might have NFL in future: Terry Pluto". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  6. Legwold, Jeff (March 30, 2011). "Mount Union WR Cecil Shorts long on talent for NFL draft". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  7. "Cecil Shorts III". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  8. "Cecil Shorts III, DS #20 WR, Mount Union". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  9. "2011 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  10. Oehser, John (April 30, 2011). "Shorts is Jags first 4th round pick". www.jaguars.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  11. Orr, Conor. "Houston Texans sign former Jags wideout Cecil Shorts". NFL.com. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  12. "Jets vs. Texans - Game Summary - November 22, 2015 - ESPN".
  13. Patra, Kevin (June 18, 2016). "Cecil Shorts takes pay cut to remain with Texans". NFL.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  14. "TRANSACTIONS: Texans down to 53-man roster". HoustonTexans.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017.
  15. Smith, Scott. "Cecil Shorts Adds Experience to WR Ranks". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  16. Smith, Scott (December 6, 2016). "Josh Huff Promoted to Replace Cecil Shorts". Buccaneers.com.
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