Penn State WR Justin Shorter, former five-star recruit in 2018 class, enters NCAA transfer portal

Penn State sophomore wide receiver Justin Shorter has entered the NCAA transfer portal, 247Sports reports. Shorter, a sophomore from Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, was a five-star member of the Nittany Lions' 2018 recruiting class. He was the No. 1 player in New Jersey for that cycle as well as the No. 1 wideout prospect and the No. 8 overall player in the country, just behind fellow blue-chipper Micah Parsons. 

Shorter, however, has not had the same impact at Penn State as Parsons. He has 12 receptions for 137 yards with zero touchdowns on the season, and as a freshman last year, he had just three catches for 20 yards in four game appearances. 

Penn State nor Shorter have yet to confirm that he has entered the portal. Onward State, though, noted that coach James Franklin revealed that he discussed the matter with Shorter at his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon. As usual, entering the portal does not necessarily mean that he will be transferring from the program, only that he is able to communicate with other programs. 

Shorter may not have had the production one would expect from a former blue-chip player in his first two seasons at Happy Valley, but has the physical tools to be a big-time playmaker. At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, he has the outside size a lot of Power Five programs will be coveting should he make the final decision to depart from the Nittany Lions program.