MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Daikiel Shorts’ emergence as a third-down weapon for West Virginia forced defenses to react.
Oklahoma State surrounded him on a game-clinching interception. Texas bracketed Shorts on two interceptions by safety Dylan Haines. Oklahoma presented a twist by dropping opposite-side linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo into the path of Shorts’ crossing routes.
“I would think that I’m open and I’d look over and No. 31 was right there,” Shorts said. “He’s like, ‘You don’t want that pass.’ And I’m thinking, yeah, I’m glad Skyler didn’t throw that.”
Despite a quiet night in the 56-28 loss to the Sooners, Shorts drew coverage away from Ka’Raun White’s 37-yard score, Jovon Durante’s 20-yard touchdown and Shelton Gibson’s 61-yard catch.
Iowa State also tried dropping its middle linebacker and giving additional safety attention, and West Virginia’s slot receiver — bothered by a leg injury — was held to two catches 38 yards. But Shorts again was on the field when White caught a 34-yard touchdown and Gibson hauled in a 50-yard catch.
“I told Daikiel it was going to happen, because when you play good, they start designing things to slow you down,” said receivers coach Tyron Carrier.
“Most kids would get mad and say ‘Design another way to get me the ball.’ But he’s a great kid. He was like, well, Ka’Raun’s is going to play better. Shelton’s going to play better. Jovon’s going to play better.”
Shorts has 18 receptions on third down this season, resulting in 16 first downs and 304 yards. While only one of his drive-extending receptions occurred in the last two games, Shorts isn’t pressing. He sees the opportunities opening up outside. He also knows that using linebackers to undercut him softens the run defense, a factor in Justin Crawford ripping through the Sooners for 331 yards and Martell Pettaway gaining 181 against the Cyclones.
Despite playing the decoy of late, Shorts enters his Senior Day finale enjoying his biggest season yet, with 815 yards on a team-high 55 catches. His four touchdowns give him 13 across a career in which he has been a four-year starter.
His next reception will be No. 170, moving him past Shawn Foreman for fifth on the school’s all-time list.
Yet intangibles, not numbers, led Dana Holgorsen to call Shorts “the backbone of what we do,” a reliable component who hasn’t missed a single one of his 49 college games.
“He’s the toughest kid I’ve ever coached, and I mean it,” Holgorsen said. “He’s the hardest working kid I’ve ever seen, the best practice player I’ve ever seen. He has injuries and you don’t know he has injuries because he goes out and he practices his butt off every single day.”
As an early-enrolling freshman in 2013, Shorts rapidly climbed the depth chart and joined the starting lineup by Game 2 at Oklahoma. That was a 4-8 season that still irks Holgorsen, who recalled Shorts making his mark among several first-year offensive starters, “which is why we sucked.”
Amid the timing misfires and clunkiness of that first losing season — “I think we played like four quarterbacks my freshman year,” Shorts said — the receiver emerged as a steady influence. The following year he worked the middle while Kevin White and Mario Alford enjoyed big plays outside.
Over the past two seasons, Shorts became Skyler Howard’s primary option, posting multiple catches in every game except one. His ability to convert underneath routes continues to free up West Virginia’s speed guys outside.
“If you’re going to double Daikiel, that’s going to happen,” Carrier said. “When there’s no safety help on the outside, it’s a tough day.”
Just like losing Shorts will be a tough day for Carrier. The assistant arrived during spring practice determined to form his own impression about WVU’s receivers, not buying into “who’s a good kid or who’s a bad kid” based on other staffers’ perceptions.
“But all the good stuff I heard about Daikiel turned out to be true — all of it,” he said. “Work ethic, toughness, and being able to motivate everybody on the team. If a guy makes a bad play he’s able to pick them up the right way.
“He works for everything. That’s tough to replace. Gonna miss him.”