Report: Kentucky football loses first-year wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts to Nebraska
The first offseason change on Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football coaching staff is a familiar one.
Wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts, who just joined the staff a year ago, is reportedly leaving Kentucky for the same job at Nebraska, according to 247Sports. The move comes shortly after Nebraska hired former West Virginia and Houston coach Dana Holgorsen as offensive coordinator. Shorts played for Holgorsen at West Virginia and worked on his Houston staff before coming to Kentucky.
With Shorts leaving, UK will open 2025 with its seventh wide receivers coach in Stoops’ 13-year tenure.
Shorts joined UK’s staff last December after Stoops fired wide receivers coach Scott Woodward. He was hired while Liam Coen was still offensive coordinator but remained on staff after Coen left UK for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Stoops replaced him with former Boise State offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. Coaches and players quickly praised Shorts, 29, for his ability to relate to players due to his age and experience playing the position.
Under Shorts’ leadership, junior wide receiver Dane Key posted career highs in catches (47) and receiving yards (715) despite playing one fewer game than his freshman and sophomore seasons and missing most of the regular season finale due to injury. While Key flourished, the rest of the position group disappointed.
North Texas transfer Ja’Mori Maclin, who was one of just 25 players to total at least 1,000 receiving yards in 2023, caught just 13 passes. Junior Barion Brown posted the worst season of his three-year UK career.
Per the terms of Shorts’ UK contract, he would owe Kentucky $500,000 for leaving before June 30, 2025. He was set to make $315,000 next season.