The top five Georgia football quarterbacks of the Twenty-first century

Number three – DJ Shockley

DJ Shockley stuck around Athens for four years waiting behind David Greene, the most successful post World War II Georgia quarterback. Had it not been for war, Shockley would have never seen his 2005 SEC Championship dream season.

With Georgia scheduled to face Houston in Sanford Stadium on the third Saturday in September, 2001. Georgia football head coach Mark Richt announced his plan to play Shockley. The game would no doubt have began the inevitable burning of his redshirt.

History changes course

On Tuesday September 11, terrorists crashed two planes into New York City’s Twin Towers, killing 2,753.  As the nation began mourning, football games across the country were postponed, including  the Georgia – Houston matchup. The game was rescheduled for December first. Shockley never appeared during the season, and he entered the 2002 season a redshirt freshman .

When Shockley’s day came in 2005, he seized it, throwing for 2588 yards 24 touchdowns, and only five interceptions.

Worth the wait

Shockley led the Dawgs to the SEC Championship game where they handled LSU 34 – 14 for the SEC title on the strength of two early Shockley touchdown bombs. Shockley was named the SEC Championship game MVP and first team All-SEC. How he was not named the 2005 SEC Player of the Year has yet to be adequately explained to Georgia fans.

In the transfer happy college football world, Shockley stuck around Georgia four years waiting his turn. When Georgia fans gather and argue their all-time favorite players, the argument ends with, “But DJ stayed, and it was great.”