When he changed his jersey number to 1 before the 2019 season, Quan Shorts said part of the reason was to establish a tradition and follow the path laid out by Jazz Ferguson.

Shorts did just that in his record-setting senior season and, Thursday, he placed his name beside Ferguson’s in another way. Shorts was named a third-team All-American by STATS FCS, giving Northwestern State back-to-back All-American selections for the first time since the 2014-15 seasons.

“Quan’s performance this year, especially playing through turf toe down the stretch, was tremendous,” second-year head coach Brad Laird said. “As a program, we couldn’t be prouder for Quan to be recognized as an All-American. He did not shy away from taking a leadership role and showed our younger receivers what it takes to be successful day in and day out. The way he prepared himself on a daily basis laid the foundation for his record-setting season.”

Shorts followed Ferguson as Demon All-Americans after shattering the school single-season receptions record. A 6-foot-2, 195-pound Texas Tech transfer, Shorts snared 100 passes as a senior despite battling turf toe for the final three and a half games of the season. His 994 receiving yards rank second in a season at NSU and his 11 touchdown receptions are second in school single-season history.

In just two seasons, Shorts carved his name throughout the Northwestern State record books.

In addition to his single-season marks, Shorts’ 156 career catches are second-most in school history, his 13 touchdown receptions place him in a three-way tie for fifth with Ferguson and Ed Eagan, and his 1,536 receiving yards are the 11th-highest total, leaving him just two yards short of the top 10.

Shorts recorded four double-figure catch games as a senior, including a career-best 12 catches at UT Martin in the Aug. 29 season opener, a total that was one shy of tying the school record. He added three different 11-catch games. His five 100-yard receiving games was one shy of Ferguson’s school record of six, set in 2018. With a run of three straight 100-yard receiving games from Sept. 28-Oct. 19, Shorts became the first Demon receiver to eclipse 100 yards in three consecutive games.

Shorts is the 47th All-American in school history and joins Ferguson as NSU receivers named All-Americans at that position. Eagan, whose single-season reception record Shorts broke, was chosen an All-American in 2014 as the all-purpose player on the squad.