Trevon Grimes, Justin Shorter and the Brotherhood That's Driving the Florida Gators
Tre Grimes had his eyes on the big screen, watching as his teammates Justin Shorter coasted to the side of the endzone. That’s where quarterback Kyle Trask found the receiver, and arced a rainbow pass to the 6-5 redshirt sophomore. As Shorter came down with the catch over an Arkansas Razorback defender for the score, Grimes shot off the bench and down the sideline, cutting around an official and getting to Shorter before any of his teammates.
The two shared a chest bump as Grimes celebrated harder than anyone in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium over the touchdown that sent the Gators up 21-7 in a game they’d eventually win 63-35.
The touchdown saw Shorter leap with both feet off the ground, back arched and hands in a stiff line into the air. It looked remarkably similar to a touchdown scored by Grimes the week before versus the Georgia Bulldogs.
"We have the pictures, it's kind of like the catch I made at Georgia, literally identical,” remarked Grimes.
And who’s was better?
“Honestly Shorter, I'll give it to my boy Shorter,” admits Grimes.
“Like I said, he's a phenomenal player, phenomenal catch, and that's just a small thing of what he can do. His catch radius is crazy, so, he's a phenomenal receiver, and his catch was pretty fire.”
It shouldn’t be a coincidence the two mirrored one another however. Justin Shorter has been studying Tre Grimes game for years.
“I was looking up to (Grimes) since I was literally in eighth grade.”
That would have been nearly eight years ago for Shorter, the New Jersey native. As he was developing his skills to become one of the best high school players in the country, he began looking for YouTube clips…and found a South Florida player who served as a study in success and inspiration.
"I remember YouTube, they would always have these videos about all these highlights from these great players, and I see Trevon Grimes. It’s this tall dude, lanky, kind of like me. So I just watched him, and I was able to follow him.
“I can promise you guys, I remember watching YouTube videos on him, undergrad spotlights and all this stuff, and then finally being able to come here and I’m like ‘Wow, Trevon Grimes is actually at my position, he’s playing with me.’ So I’ve just been trying to learn every single detail from him back there so I can just better myself, and it’s been paying off.”
In much the same way they’ve found a similar groove in Gainesville, the duo followed a markedly similar path to Gator country. Both initially enrolled and suited up for storied Big 10 programs. Grimes at Ohio State, Shorter at Penn State. Both had potential for a career there but found a fit off the field that, well, chafed. You’d be hard pressed to convince either to speak a bad word about their former teams. But something wasn’t right.
Grimes transferred to the Florida program ahead of the 2018 season, receiving a waiver to play immediately. Shorter followed this past offseason and received the same waiver.
“Coach Franklin is a great coach, all the coaches out there are great people,” said Shorter.
“All the players up there, I’m still very, very close with them. It was obviously unfortunate that I had to leave, but I had to make the best choice for me and now, I’m here at Florida and I’m just focused on helping our team get to the national championship.”
And for as much as he appreciated James Franklin, the opportunity to work under receiver coach Billy Gonzales was too enticing to pass up, especially following a season Gonzales sent four receiver to the NFL.
“Dan Mullen and Billy Gonzalez, they have a lot of experience working together. So that was really attractive, just to see both of them basically being together for a long time and knowing that (Gonzales) coached wideouts and that I would be able to come in here and get developed. And every single day since I’ve met him over the summer, he’s been working us and the wideout group and we’ve all just really taken strides.
“It’s just so good seeing our practice, because we see freshmen coming in, Xzavier Henderson coming in to practice, and he’s going out there and doing all these crazy moves and like, I’m learning from him, and (Gonzales) is teaching us brand new things. It was really just the coaching, and it’s just paying off now. I’m just really, really thankful for it.”
Shorter also found Grimes, his influence and inspiration and now teammate. The younger receiver eventually told Grimes of all those times he’d spent when just starting out, watching the St. Thomas Aquinas product’s tape on YouTube. But now he has a front row seat and tips from the man himself.
“It was just crazy, just to see him like literally in front of my eyes, running routes and just see how similar we are and his body type and just seeing how he slows down his routes and how he gets in and out of his breaks, and I was just really trying to mirror that and basically just add to my toolbox so I could be useful.
“One day I was like 'Yo man, I've been watching you since 8th grade,' but right now, I feel like that's my brother.”
It’s the latter part of Shorter’s statement that is making the difference for the No. 6 Florida Gators. Not the sheer talent (though there is a lot), not the high powered air-raid offense (though it’s been incredible, and fourth in the nation in yards per game) and it’s not even all of that talent and offense coming together with guys that have been standing out since teammates were on JV squads.
It’s the brotherhood.
Before every game, a couple of things happen. One, the entire Florida team comes together in a huddle near the endzone, raise their fist in the air and a voice from the middle—it doesn’t matter who each week, because that’s not the point of the exercise—rings out, “who got my back?”
“I got your back,” answers the team gathered around him.
Two, Justin Shorter finds Tre Grimes and gives him a number.
“Before every game, he'll come up to me, he'll say 'I need two, you need two,' or like 'I need one, you need one,' and every time he says it, that's really what happens, I kid you not,” laughed Grimes.
"Like, Georgia game, he said 'You gon' get one this game,' and I got one. And then before this game, he said 'You're gonna get two touchdowns.' Like, he literally called it, and I scored two touchdowns. He said he was going to get two, too, but he didn't end up getting two, he only got one. He said he's going to catch up and make up for that one he didn't get this upcoming game, so I'm excited for him.”
Shorter has scored one touchdown in each of the last three games, with 101 yards on the season. Grimes scored two versus Arkansas and has five on the season, with his 303 yards. Neither are gaudy numbers. The nation’s leading receiver—Elijah Moore of Ole Miss—has 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns through seven games.
But remember, Grimes and Shorter play the same position, splitting reps as Grimes starts. That means between the two of them, they have 404 yards and eight touchdowns. The scoring tally would be tied for fourth in the nation. For Shorter, the former ESPN No. 1 receiver in the nation coming out of high school, biding his time behind Grimes is a small price to pay to learn from him, pick his brain, maybe even mimic his style on insane touchdown catches.
It’s a microcosm of the rest of the team and the attitude it will take to win a championship.
In total, 13 guys have caught a pass for Florida this season, with five already in double digits. Of those 13 with a reception, 11 have a touchdown. On the ground, 10 players have run the ball, six with double digit touches and five having hit pay-dirt carrying the ball.
The theory has been put into practice—and proven successful—since Mullen and Gonzales arrived in Gainesville. To quote Mullen, “of our three starting receivers in 2019, four are in the NFL.”
Adds Grimes, “It’s just a testimony that staying grounded and staying level headed and not getting too mad that if the ball doesn't come your way, or you don't have a certain amount of touches during a game, it's just a testimony to see that you can get to the next level, just buying into what coach Mullen says.
“It's something you have to get used to. A lot of players come into college and they think they are going to get all these targets and be the top player, and then when you get to college, you realize that it’s not like that at all. You have to be able to share and be happy for your teammates, and like I said , I play with Justin Shorter, who is another phenomenal receiver and we play at the same position, and I’m as excited for him when he scores…that just goes to show the love we have for each other regardless if he plays my position or not. We want to see each other win. It’s an honor to play with teammates like that.”
Shorter agreed, “Really, everyone on the team is selfless. We’re a huge family here. It’s just really good to see. Like, one person will score, and everyone will be jumping on the sideline going crazy. It’s just good to see everyone happy for each other whenever we all make big plays.”
In short, they’re finding ways to share the wealth because sharing it is better than being poor.
No where is that more evident than Grimes and Shorter. Just ask Tre Grimes.
“The first workout we had together, Shorter came up to me and we started talking, we started talking about different routes, and how we run different things and I started asking him tips and he started asking me because he is a very big receiver. We started just talking and talking and then ever since then we became close friends and since then we work out together so it was never a kind of a, ‘size him up and see how he works and knowing that was kind of the person that was coming into play my same position.'
“It was more so, learning from him and what I can learn from him and what he can learn from me and, and how we can be a duo to go out there and dominate. And that's what we're doing now and, and I'm happy he's here now and I'm excited for him and what he has for the future. And we're just going to keep going out there and dominate and doing what we do.”
After Grimes matched Shorter’s vertical jump in celebration of his touchdown, he turned and found himself face-to-face with an official. He knew right away he was in trouble.
“I realized when I was next to him, I was like 'Man, my helmet's off, I know I'm about to get a PI,' so I kind of tried to turn around and walked away, and the ref looked my in my eyes and said 'You can't do that,' and threw the flag right in front of me.”
After making his way back to the sideline, coaches obligingly chastised Grimes for the flag…then commended him on the support according to the receiver. Because it’s difficult to be too upset for a show of affection and support that has become the backbone of a potential championship team.
“That's something I would take the penalty for 'cause it just shows how much love we have for each other, as teammates.”
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