D. J. Shockley

Donald Eugene "D. J." Shockley (born March 23, 1983 in College Park, Georgia) is an American football quarterback for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia.

Early years
Shockley played high school football at North Clayton High School. His father, Don Shockley, was his team's head coach. As a senior, he threw for 1,861 yards and 11 touchdowns, as well as rushing for 864 yards and eight more TDs. He was a highly recruited QB earning various national accolades: 2000 USA Today All-USA Second Team, 2000 Parade Magazine All-America Team, SUPERPREP Elite 50, All-America, and ranked as the top QB in the country, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super Southern 100, Top 50 in Georgia, Marvelous Metro Eleven and Class AAAA All-State Quarterback, 2000 Georgia Sports Writers Association Class AAAA All-State Quarterback.

Collegiate career
UGA's new incoming coach in 2001, Mark Richt, made Shockley a priority recruit, and he is generally regarded as Richt's first official recruit at Georgia.

Richt ultimately chose redshirt freshman David Greene to be the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs in 2001, while Shockley was redshirted. Greene went on to set the NCAA record for wins as a starting quarterback in a career. But over the course of those 4 years, Shockley did see some playing time in a modified dual-quarterback system.

In 2002 as a redshirt freshman, playing in parts of 10 games, Shockley completed 32-of-52 passes (61.5%) for 615 yards with 5 TDs and 2 interceptions. He rushed for 111 yards and 2 more TDs. He also threw a 37-yard TD pass in the Nokia Sugar Bowl win over Florida State University as the Bulldogs wrapped up their first SEC Championship season in 20 years.

In 2003, Shockley injured his knee midway through the season and finished with 9 completions on 21 passes for 88 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He added another 101 yards and a rushing touchdown.

In 2004, Shockley completed 26-of-57 (45.6%) passes for 464 yards with 4 touchdowns, 1 interception and adding 113 yards rushing. Shockley earned an SEC Academic Honor Roll award in 2004 as a Speech Communications major. He is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Following the Bulldogs opening win against #18 Boise State, Shockley was named Cingular All-America Player of the Week for his 374-yard, 6 touchdown effort against the Broncos as the UGA signal caller completed 16-of-24 passing attempts for 289 yards while rushing five times for 85 yards. Shockley was also named Sporting News Player of the Week and SEC Player of the Week, and nominated for USATODAY.com Player of the Week after the Boise State game. He was one of 11 Division I-A football players named to AFCA's National Good Works Team, which recognizes "players who have devoted themselves to exemplary community service." He was also chosen as a semi-finalist for the 2005 Draddy Trophy.

In 2005, Shockley played in 12 of Georgia's 13 games, completing 173-of-310 (55.8%) passes for 2,588 yards with 5 interceptions (1.6%) and 24 touchdowns. He also gained 322 yards rushing in 78 attempts with 4 touchdowns. Shockley had a longest run of 40 yards and completed a 56 yard touchdown pass to tight end Martrez Milner for his longest pass play of the season - as both of these highlights occurred in the same game on Sep. 3, 2005 against Boise State.

In Georgia's 7th game of the season against Arkansas, Shockley had to leave early in the 2nd quarter with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Because of his injury, he had to sit out Georgia's 8th game of the season against one of the school's most hated rivals, the University of Florida Gators, in the game commonly known as The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Redshirt junior Joe Tereshinski was named the starter, and he finished the game completing 9-of-21 passes for 100 yards and an interception. Georgia lost the game, 14-10.

Shockley returned for the 10th game of the season against the Auburn Tigers, but despite playing very well, completing 20-of-36 passes for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns and running 7 times for another 40 yards, Georgia lost the game 31-30 on a last-second field goal to fall to 8-2 on the season. After beating Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 14-7, Georgia went on to play the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship game. Shockley threw for two touchdowns, ran for another and Georgia won 34-14 to claim the 2005 SEC Championship title. Shockley was named the MVP of the SEC championship game.

Georgia's football season and Shockley's collegiate career ended with a 38-35 loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sugar Bowl on January 2, 2006. Despite the loss, Shockley had an excellent performance throwing for 277 yards off 20-of-33 passing attempts with 3 touchdowns while rushing for 71 yards on 8 carries.

Shockley won the National Bobby Bowden Award, finished 3rd in the voting for Associated Press Player of the Year, behind Reggie Bush and Vince Young.

Atlanta Falcons
Even though many mock drafts projected him to be taken earlier, the 6-0⅞, 214-pound Shockley was drafted in the 7th round (223rd overall) by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2006 NFL Draft. He was the first University of Georgia player selected by the Falcons since 1994.

On August 27, 2006, then Falcons head coach Jim Mora announced that Shockley had made the team as the 3rd string quarterback (over Bryan Randall) and would lead the scout team.

Shockley missed the entire 2007 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and damage to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.

After the Atlanta Falcons picked Matt Ryan with their third overall pick in the 2008 draft, first year coach Mike Smith made every position open for competition. In a tough battle, hometown favorite Shockley won the third string job over Joey Harrington. Subsequently, Harrington was released by the Falcons shortly after the announcement.

On September 5, 2009, Shockley was cut by the Falcons, but was signed to the practice squad on September 6. He was released from the practice squad October 21 to make room on the roster for running back Antone Smith. He was re-signed to the practice squad on December 1. After his contract expired following the season, Shockley was re-signed to a future contract on January 4, 2010. He was waived again on July 9.

Omaha Nighthawks
Shockley didn't allow much time for downtime as a professional football player following his release from the Atlanta Falcons. He agreed to attend a minicamp with the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL on July 19, 2010. Shockley signed with the team on August 23 and became a backup quarterback playing behind former Philadelphia Eagles' Jeff Garcia. Omaha finished the season at 3-5, and Shockley completed 2-of-5 passes for 30 yards in limited playing time.

Personal
Shockley currently resides in Riverdale, Georgia and is married to his high school sweetheart, Portia Phillips.