New Kentucky football wide receivers coach has track record with top talent

Mark Stoops has found his new wide receivers coach.

UK is set to hire former Houston wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts for the same position on Stoops’ staff, UK confirmed in a news release Wednesday. News of Shorts’ probable hire was first broken by FootballScoop.com Friday, but Stoops and offensive coordinator Liam Coen could not comment on the move in subsequent media appearances as the university had not finalized the hire.

“Daikiel Shorts is a young and talented coach who is a great addition to our program,” Stoops said in the news release. “I’ve been impressed by him. He’s got a lot of energy, he’s personable and he’s relatable. The most important thing is that he will be a great mentor to our players. We are excited to get him here.”

Shorts spent the last three seasons as the wide receivers coach on Dana Holgorsen’s Houston staff. He previously worked as director of player personnel at Houston after one season in a support staff role at West Virginia.

Shorts, 29, played wide receiver at West Virginia for Holgorsen, totaling more than 2,000 receiving yards during his time as a Mountaineer. Holgorsen and his Houston staff were fired in November.

At Kentucky, Shorts will replace Scott Woodward, who was fired after the regular season finale.

When word of Shorts’ candidacy at UK first surfaced, there was speculation he might come as a package deal with former Houston wide receiver transfer Matthew Golden, but Golden, a former four-star recruit, committed to Texas as a transfer over the weekend.

Still, Shorts’ work with Golden and several other Houston receivers offers hope he can attract top talent to Lexington and help develop it once there. Shorts was one of the primary recruiters for Houston wide receivers Golden, Mikal Harrison-Pilot and Jonah Wilson, three of the six highest-rated recruits to sign with the Cougars in the recruiting website era, according to 247Sports.

In a 2022 interview, Golden’s high school coach attributed Golden’s decision to flip his commitment as a four-star recruit from TCU to Houston as in part at least being a result of his close relationship with Shorts.

“We have a different type of relationship, a different type of bond,” Wilson said of Shorts in an interview with The Houston Chronicle. “I know I can go to him about anything. He talked to me every single day in my recruiting process in high school.

“... It is about football, but it’s not always about football. It’s about what’s going to happen after and who can help you after and all those things. So yeah, (Shorts) did play a big role in that. I trust him with all my heart.”

Kentucky needs to add multiple wide receivers via the transfer portal with just three wide receivers who caught a pass last season currently slated to return in 2024. Former four-star recruit Raymond Cottrell (Texas A&M) and North Texas 1,000-yard receiver Ja’Mori Maclin have already committed to the Wildcats’ 2024 transfer class. They would join scholarship returners Barion Brown, Dane Key, Anthony Brown-Stephens, Brandon White, Shamar Porter and Ardell Banks at the position. It would not be a surprise to see at least one more transfer pursued after Golden committed to Texas and Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley, who took a visit to UK this month, elected to stay in Bloomington.

Whether another transfer is added or not, Shorts will be tasked with pushing the returning receivers to bounce back from disappointing 2023 seasons. Brown and Key showed flashes of their immense promise as sophomores but failed to make the major jump from year one to year two in the program Kentucky hoped. UK’s early transfer targets at the position send a clear message the staff is not simply looking for depth behind Brown and Key. Instead, the caliber of wide receiver they are pursuing could provide true competition for that duo’s starting jobs.

The fact that Shorts played the position in college could help that quest to develop UK’s returning receivers. Woodward played quarterback.

“When I’m around the guys, when I’m on the field in practice, meetings, game day, I’m pretty energetic,” Shorts said in his first UK news conference Tuesday. “I’m pretty passionate. I’ve played. Obviously everybody likes to play as long as they can. Obviously, I wasn’t that good of a player. Got cut short, but still the passion is there. I’m pretty fiery on game day, but I’m pretty laid back outside of the field.”

Asked what he had looked for in a new wide receivers coach Monday, Coen stressed the importance of good communication skills in the position.

“Somebody that can truly relate to those guys in a way, both on and off the field,” Coen said. “Somebody that’s played the position is always very helpful to where the players believe in what you’re saying because you’ve done it. You can still demonstrate because you’re young enough and athletic enough to do some of those things.

“Then obviously the discipline part. Being able to really get the room structured the way we want it to be, get those guys all on the same page. Everybody being accountable too, both on and off the field, academically, socially and in the football building, I think that will be really important.”

Shorts coached former Houston wide receiver Nathaniel Dell to All-America honors in 2022 when Dell led the country in receiving yards (1,398) and receiving touchdowns (17). Five different wide receivers caught at least 20 passes for Houston in 2023.

Shorts will be Stoops’ sixth wide receivers coach in 12 seasons at Kentucky. Each of the five wide receivers coaches that preceded him were fired.

“Really didn’t have to sell me on much, if I’m being honest,” Stoops said. “I’ve heard of Dane and Barion. Obviously, they’re pretty darn good players, but the biggest thing is just knowing who Coach Stoops is and how he runs his program, which is very intriguing to me. Walking into a room with those guys was just a plus for me. I’m ready to get my hands on them. It’s going to be fun.”

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