Cecil Shorts

Cecil Shorts

Shorts with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014
No. 84, 18, 10
Position:	Wide receiver
Personal information
Born:	(1987-12-22) December 22, 1987 (age 36) Kent, Ohio, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:	Collinwood (Cleveland, Ohio)
College:	Mount Union (2006–2010)
NFL draft:	2011 / round: 4 / pick: 114
Career history
Jacksonville Jaguars (2011–2014) Houston Texans (2015) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016)
Career highlights and awards
2× NCAA Division III national champion (2006, 2008) 2× First-team Little All-American (2009, 2010) D3Football.com Offensive Player of the Year (2009)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 229 Receiving yards: 2,979 Receiving touchdowns: 14 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Cecil Carlon Shorts III (born December 22, 1987) is an American former professional 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 selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft.

Early life

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

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench 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 s	1.59 s	2.54 s	4.07 s	6.50 s	34+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 selected 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.^[11] Shorts played sparingly in his rookie season, catching only two passes for 30 yards and a touchdown in 10 games.^[12] He missed the final six games in 2011 with a hamstring injury.^[13] 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.^[14] He was placed on season-ending injured reserve on December 24, 2012, due to a concussion.^[15] In Week 3 of the 2013 season, Shorts had eight receptions for a career-high 143 yards in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks.^[16] In the 2013 season, Shorts recorded 66 catches for 777 yards and three touchdowns.^[17] He was placed on injured reserve on December 17, 2013, with a groin injury.^[18] Shorts caught 53 catches for 577 yards and one touchdown.^[19] In the 2014 season, Shorts finished with 53 receptions for 557 yards and one touchdown in 13 appearances and starts.^[20] Shorts became a free agent after the 2014 season.^[21]

Houston Texans

On March 16, 2015, Shorts signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Houston Texans.^[22] On November 22, 2015, Shorts threw a touchdown pass to running back Alfred Blue on a trick play against the New York Jets.^[23] In the 2015 season, he finished with 42 receptions for 484 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games and four starts.^[24] On June 18, 2016, Shorts signed a pay cut reducing his salary to $1.2 million with $750,000 in bonuses.^[25] On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Texans.^[26]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On September 6, 2016, Shorts was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[27] He was placed on injured reserve on December 6, 2016, after tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL.^[28] In the 2016 season, he appeared in nine games and made five starts. He finished with 11 receptions for 152 yards.^[29]

NFL statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	REC	YDs	AVG	TD
2011	JAX	10	0	2	30	15.0	1
2012	JAX	14	9	55	979	17.8	7
2013	JAX	13	13	66	777	11.8	3
2014	JAX	13	12	53	557	10.5	1
2015	HOU	11	4	42	484	11.5	2
2016	TB	9	5	11	152	13.8	0
Career		70	43	229	2,979	13.0	14

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. "Mount Union Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
12. "Cecil Shorts 2011 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
13. Stellino, Vito (September 13, 2012). "The anatomy of a catch: Cecil Shorts finally showing promise". Florida Times-Union. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
14. "2012 Jacksonville Jaguars Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
15. "Cecil Shorts joins Jacksonville Jaguars mates on IR". NFL.com. December 26, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
16. Cwik, Chris (September 23, 2013). "Cecil Shorts has a big game against Seahawks". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
17. "Cecil Shorts 2012 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
18. Hurcomb, Michael (December 17, 2013). "Cecil Shorts finishes 2013 season on IR". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
19. "Cecil Shorts 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
20. "Cecil Shorts 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
21. "Jets Reach Out to Cecil Shorts". Gang Green Nation. March 12, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
22. Orr, Conor (March 16, 2015). "Houston Texans sign former Jags wideout Cecil Shorts". NFL.com. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
23. "Jets vs. Texans - Game Summary - November 22, 2015 - ESPN".
24. "Cecil Shorts 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
25. Patra, Kevin (June 18, 2016). "Cecil Shorts takes pay cut to remain with Texans". NFL.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
26. "TRANSACTIONS: Texans down to 53-man roster". HoustonTexans.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017.
27. Smith, Scott. "Cecil Shorts Adds Experience to WR Ranks". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
28. Smith, Scott (December 6, 2016). "Josh Huff Promoted to Replace Cecil Shorts". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
29. "Cecil Shorts 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024.

External links

• Career statistics from ESPN · Yahoo Sports
• Mount Union Purple Raiders football bio