Georgia Football: The Five Two-Quarterback Seasons
2002: David Greene and DJ Shockley
If you complete five in a row, you want to stay out there on the field.
Fans argue about whether 2002 meets the definition of a two quarterback season, but that was surly the intention of Mark Richt entering the 2002 football season with David Greene and D. J. Shockley.
“David Greene is without question our starting quarterback, but D.J. Shockley is a guy who has proved to me that he is a very talented guy,” Richt told Josh Kendall of onlineathens.com. “We’ll play D.J. early in every ball game and how well he does will determine how much playing time he gets.” Josh Kendall
The plan seemed simple and logical, but ultimately, it wasn’t much of a plan. Quotes to Josh Kendall a month before the 2002 opening game foreshadowed issues which surfaced during the season.
Shockley: We haven’t even established what the role will be.
Green: If you complete five in a row, you want to stay out there on the field. I can see where it would be tough to complete five in a row and then come off.
And while the 2002 season was a great success, it was a tale of two quarterbacks for Shockley, the story illustrated by two games.
In the season opener against Clemson, Shockley accounted for two touchdowns on a run and pass and Georgia defeated the Tigers 31-28.
With Georgia playing not just for the SEC East title but for a spot in the National Championship game. D.J. Shockley threw an interception that Guss Scott returned 47 yards for a touchdown and Georgia lost 20-13.
It was an unforgettable year. The Dawgs went 13-1, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to claim the SEC East crown at Auburn, won the Southeastern Conference Championship and defeated FSU in the Sugar Bowl.
Greene and Shockley displayed not only a team first attitude but an affection for each other and it was a great season for Georgia, marred only by the single loss to Florida.
However, the typographical error in Kendall’s pre-season article may have prophesied the lost opportunity in the Gator Bowl. “There hasn’t been a hint of decisiveness.”