dirty
EOG Master
QB knows lack of playing time at UGA hurts him in eyes of pro scouts
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/23/06 Playing for that ol' college spirit has turned into a potential livelihood worth big bucks, and former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley said he's thought more and more about his decision not to transfer years ago when he was unable to unseat record-setting starter David Greene.
Now, Shockley said, it could cost him hundreds of thousands ? if not millions.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--startclickprintinclude--><!--begintext-->"I sit back and look at it and say, 'If I did have a couple years under my belt, maybe I could be mentioned as a first-rounder like some of those other guys,' " Shockley said.
With only his senior season as a starter on his resume, Shockley arrived at the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis on Thursday with possibly more physical gifts and a stronger character than most of his peers. Yet, with an impressive but limited body of work, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior isn't even mentioned in the same breath as multi-year starters such as USC's Matt Leinart, Texas' Vince Young and Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler, all likely first-round selections.
"I made the decision to stay at Georgia and even at that time, I knew I might have to deal with this situation later on," Shockley said. "I always knew this could be coming.
"I'm hoping that people see that the year I did start, I did it in the SEC. Our team won the SEC championship and I hope that helps me. As far as the draft goes, all I can say is, 'Look at what I did in that one year.' "
Shockley ? who was as highly touted, if not more, as any draft eligible quarterback when he graduated from North Clayton High ? completed 173 of 310 passes for 2,588 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions at Georgia last season. In three seasons before that, when he was substituted into games for a scheduled series or two for Greene, Shockley threw for 967 yards with 10 TDs.
Shockley considered transferring from Georgia early in his career. But after consulting with coach Mark Richt, who Shockley said never promised him playing time, he opted to remain where he was most familiar. He showed flashes of greatness and trepidation in his bit parts leading up to his senior year and once the job was his, Shockley began the process of proving himself ? to a suspect Bulldog Nation and the NFL.
The jury remains out on the latter.
"I interviewed him at the Senior Bowl and he was a very impressive kid to talk to," Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay said. "He was pretty good in practice in displaying arm strength. He was not as consistently accurate as he would have liked but his tape is pretty good. I don't believe people will be disappointed in his leadership and who he is.
"Where he gets drafted? It's way too early."
The mobile Shockley said he feels he is viewed as a "project" player, one that might take several years to develop.
"That one year is the biggest thing people could use going [into the combine] to like or not like me," Shockley said. "They haven't seen a lot of me. When you're going through this process, they've got to find some kind of weakness."
With little to prove, Leinart, Young and Cutler could be selective about what drills they may or may not do at the combine. Shockley doesn't have that luxury ? especially after a shaky week of workouts at the Senior Bowl before many of the same scouts and coaches who'll be at the combine.
"You've got a week to work with guys you never work with and to have just a couple of days to fine tune things isn't easy," Shockley said. "It's tough to figure out how they run their routes, where they like the ball. There are a lot of intangibles too. I just tried to play as well as I could."
Shockley, who signed with local agent Todd France, has been in Tempe, Ariz., preparing for combine drills with conditioning coaches and working on his passing mechanics with longtime college, NFL and USFL coach Dick Coury. After the combine, Shockley will resume his training in preparation for the Pro Day at Georgia and for individual workouts.
"Each year, I've have to prove something about my game," Shockley said. "People seem to always have an opinion and you want to prove those people so wrong. So you do everything in your power.
"I'm always going to have doubters so proving people wrong is something I'm going to always have to do."
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/23/06 Playing for that ol' college spirit has turned into a potential livelihood worth big bucks, and former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley said he's thought more and more about his decision not to transfer years ago when he was unable to unseat record-setting starter David Greene.
Now, Shockley said, it could cost him hundreds of thousands ? if not millions.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--startclickprintinclude--><!--begintext-->"I sit back and look at it and say, 'If I did have a couple years under my belt, maybe I could be mentioned as a first-rounder like some of those other guys,' " Shockley said.With only his senior season as a starter on his resume, Shockley arrived at the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis on Thursday with possibly more physical gifts and a stronger character than most of his peers. Yet, with an impressive but limited body of work, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior isn't even mentioned in the same breath as multi-year starters such as USC's Matt Leinart, Texas' Vince Young and Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler, all likely first-round selections.
"I made the decision to stay at Georgia and even at that time, I knew I might have to deal with this situation later on," Shockley said. "I always knew this could be coming.
"I'm hoping that people see that the year I did start, I did it in the SEC. Our team won the SEC championship and I hope that helps me. As far as the draft goes, all I can say is, 'Look at what I did in that one year.' "
Shockley ? who was as highly touted, if not more, as any draft eligible quarterback when he graduated from North Clayton High ? completed 173 of 310 passes for 2,588 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions at Georgia last season. In three seasons before that, when he was substituted into games for a scheduled series or two for Greene, Shockley threw for 967 yards with 10 TDs.
Shockley considered transferring from Georgia early in his career. But after consulting with coach Mark Richt, who Shockley said never promised him playing time, he opted to remain where he was most familiar. He showed flashes of greatness and trepidation in his bit parts leading up to his senior year and once the job was his, Shockley began the process of proving himself ? to a suspect Bulldog Nation and the NFL.
The jury remains out on the latter.
"I interviewed him at the Senior Bowl and he was a very impressive kid to talk to," Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay said. "He was pretty good in practice in displaying arm strength. He was not as consistently accurate as he would have liked but his tape is pretty good. I don't believe people will be disappointed in his leadership and who he is.
"Where he gets drafted? It's way too early."
The mobile Shockley said he feels he is viewed as a "project" player, one that might take several years to develop.
"That one year is the biggest thing people could use going [into the combine] to like or not like me," Shockley said. "They haven't seen a lot of me. When you're going through this process, they've got to find some kind of weakness."
With little to prove, Leinart, Young and Cutler could be selective about what drills they may or may not do at the combine. Shockley doesn't have that luxury ? especially after a shaky week of workouts at the Senior Bowl before many of the same scouts and coaches who'll be at the combine.
"You've got a week to work with guys you never work with and to have just a couple of days to fine tune things isn't easy," Shockley said. "It's tough to figure out how they run their routes, where they like the ball. There are a lot of intangibles too. I just tried to play as well as I could."
Shockley, who signed with local agent Todd France, has been in Tempe, Ariz., preparing for combine drills with conditioning coaches and working on his passing mechanics with longtime college, NFL and USFL coach Dick Coury. After the combine, Shockley will resume his training in preparation for the Pro Day at Georgia and for individual workouts.
"Each year, I've have to prove something about my game," Shockley said. "People seem to always have an opinion and you want to prove those people so wrong. So you do everything in your power.
"I'm always going to have doubters so proving people wrong is something I'm going to always have to do."
