What The Release Of WR Quan Shorts Means For Texas Tech Football

Thursday, the Texas Tech football program dismissed wide receiver Quan Shorts from the program for unspecified reasons, a move that will impact the receiver rotation this fall.

Thursday, for the second time since March, Quan Shorts, a wide receiver on the Texas Tech football program has been arrested in Lubbock.  Not coincidentally, Shorts was also dismissed from the program on Thursday.

Though head coach Kliff Kingsbury nor anyone in the athletic department gave any details surrounding the decision, Lubbock Police Department records quickly shed light on the incident.  According to KLBK sports reporter Erick Kelly, Shorts was busted for possession of marijuana.

This arrest comes on the heels of a late March incident in which Shorts and three teammates were arrested outside a Lubbock bar.  While the other three players have managed to stay out of trouble in the weeks since, Shorts’ latest misstep has ended his time at Texas Tech just when many thought he was poised to be a breakout star.

Kingsbury and his staff are looking to replace three starting wide receivers from a year ago due to the graduations of of Dylan Cantrell and Cam Batson and the loss of Keke Coutee who entered the NFL Draft following his junior campaign.   The turnover at the position meant that Shorts was one of the only receivers on campus to have accumulated any meaningful stats in college.

For his career, Shorts amassed 227 yards receiving on 13 catches while finding the end zone three times.  Playing in a reserve role, Shorts displayed big play ability using his speed and 6-foot-2 frame to win battles on the outside.

Last year, he had touchdown catches of 37 and 22 yards as part of his eight receptions for 103 yards.   As a redshirt freshman, Shorts had his biggest play as a Red Raider, an 81-yard touchdown reception in the season finale against Baylor.

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Many expected Quan Shorts to have the inside track to claim the second starting outside receiver spot opposite sophomore T.J. Vasher, which would have set up the former three-star recruit from Humble, Texas for a breakout season as one of the most experienced receivers on the Texas Tech football roster.

So now, fans are left to consider the ramifications of this news.  Fortunately, the receiver position is one of the most talented and deepest positions on the roster.

There are three upper-classmen that should be considered favorites to start on the outside opposite Vasher.  The most intriguing is junior Antoine Wesley, who has worked at both inside and outside receiver this offseason drawing high praise from Kingsbury this spring.

Wesley, who has just eight career receptions, might be asked to play outside again which would not be a stretch because that is where he has spend the majority of the Texas Tech football career. There appear to be more viable options at inside receiver such as DeQuan Bowman and recent Oregon State grad transfer Seth Collins, than at outside receiver making it seem logical that Wesley could end up playing outside the hashes this fall.

Other upper-classmen outside receiver candidates include senior Ja’Deion High (21 career catches for 223 yards and one TD) and junior Donta Thompson who could split time between inside and outside receiver using his 6-foot-5 frame to be a huge target on the outside in the red zone.

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However, Thompson lacks the speed necessary to be a full-time answer at wide receiver.  Some expect him to play a role similar to former tight end Jace Amaro who often lined up on the edge of the formation to create mismatches with his size.

There are also some interesting true freshman candidates that might be called upon with Shorts no long on the roster.  The strength of the 2018 signing class was the talented group of pass catchers brought into the fold.

Of the five 2018 receiver signees, the most heralded is Erik Ezukanma, a four-star signee from Keller, Texas who had offers from Utah, Arkansas, TCU, Missouri, Texas A&M and Wisconsin.  Also, keep an eye on 6-foot-4 Abilene, Texas product Myller Royals, a three-star signee who enrolled for the spring semester and participated in spring practices.

Even if these freshmen do not win the starting job, they will likely both be asked to play significant roles in the wide receiver rotation backing up both Vasher and whomever starts at the other outside spot.

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While Quan Shorts’ dismissal is far from devastating, it does cause the receiver depth to take a significant hit at a position which is in flux and lacking experience.  Fortunately, there are plenty of capable candidates in the fold and given the Texas Tech football program’s propensity for turning out star receivers, there is no doubt that at least one of them will be able to step in and contribute given the opportunity created by Thursday’s news.