5/2/11 – Rooting for Cecil
How can you not pull for a guy like Cecil Shorts III? Ignored by college recruiters coming out of high school. Goes in debt about $100,000 to get an education at Mount Union College, which has a Division III, non-scholarship football program. Works his butt off to develop into a fine football player as a wide receiver/runner/kick returner and helps his team win two national championships.
And now he has fulfilled a childhood dream: He’s been drafted to play for an NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a fourth round pick and the 114th player named, Shorts is the highest drafted Division III player ever. His inspiration is Pierre Garcon, the only other Mount Union player ever drafted.
Garcon has developed into a starter for the Indianapolis Colts. Will Shorts enjoy similar success?
Perhaps, but remember Garcon went to a team quarterbacked by Peyton Manning and with a Pro Bowl receiver in Reggie Wayne. Shorts faces a tougher challenge but his dream is still alive.
