Bly's Nephew Talks Camping At UNC & More

Justin Shorter's connection to the North Carolina football program is deeper than what may appear to meet the eye.

Shorter, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound wide receiver out of The Peddie School in Richland, NJ, participated at Mack Brown’s camp last Saturday in front of his uncle, current cornerbacks coach and former UNC All-American Dré Bly.

While Shorter lives some 418 miles away from Bly, he and his uncle still have a solid bond on and off the football field.

“My relationship with him is great,” Shorter said. “He is always giving me tips on how to get where I want to go because he has been there before.”

Shorter, who reclassified from the 2020 to 2021 class earlier this year, is yet to receive a scholarship offer from Bly and the Tar Heels but has picked up offers from Toledo, UMass and N.C. State among others. Despite having no offer from UNC as of yet, his experience at camp was a positive one.

“The camp was great,” Shorter said. “The thing I liked most about it was the fact that I got to work with Coach (Lonnie) Galloway the whole day. I learned a lot from him in the short period of time we had.”

Having now visited three times, Shorter’s seen a majority of the football facility upgrades that have been finished and are currently ongoing. Overall, he’s been impressed with what he’s seen so far.

“I’ve seen pretty much everything and in my opinion they are some of the best facilities in the country,” he said.

Shorter hopes to receive an offer from the Tar Heels in the near future and, if it does happen, he’ll have the chance to play at a program he already feels a deep connection with.

“It would mean a lot to me because my uncle played there and I have a good relationship with the coaches,” Shorter said. “UNC is already starting to feel like home.”

Along with Brown’s camp, the New Jersey native has already camped at NC State and plans to attend others at Monmouth and Maryland later this summer.