Recent D.J. Shockley Notes

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Recent D.J. Shockley Features

Drafted QBs This Century

D.J. Shockley

QB · Georgia

After patiently waiting for an opportunity to start, Shockley took over the quarterback helm as a senior after the graduation of David Greene. A much more mobile passer than his predecessor, Shockley also demonstrated a pro caliber arm and the field instincts to improvise. He is the type of player whose work ethic and attitude was a perfect fit for a young offense that lost several quality starters, especially at the receiving position. The North Clayton High School product earned second-team USA Today All-USA honors in 2000. He was a member of Parade and Super Prep's All-American squads and was also rated the top quarterback in the country by Super Prep, who afforded him with Elite 50 accolades. He also earned spots on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super Southern 100, Top 50 in Georgia, Marvelous Metro Eleven and Class AAAAA All-State teams. The 2000 Georgia Sports Writers Association Class AAAAA All-State quarterback threw for 1,861 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior, and rushed for 864 yards and eight more scores. During his junior season, Shockley gained 1,352 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and added 733 yards on the ground with nine scores. He was a three-year starter at North Clayton where his father, Don, served as his head coach. Shockley also excelled in baseball, basketball and track. After redshirting in 2001 at Georgia, Shockley appeared in ten games as a reserve quarterback in 2002. He completed 32 of 52 passes (61.5 percent) for 415 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. Shockley also carried 36 times for 115 yards (3.2 avg) and a pair of scores. A torn meniscus in his knee limited Shockley to six contests in 2003. He hit on 9 of 21 attempts for 88 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also totaled 101 yards with a score on 16 rushing attempts. The knee injury kept Shockley out of 2004 spring drills and he was relegated to reserve duty in ten games behind David Greene in 2004. He connected on 26 of 60 tosses (43.3 percent) for 464 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Shockley also accounted for 113 yards on 24 carries (4.3 avg). With Greene gone, Shockley produced a banner senior campaign. The Associated Press honored him with first-team All-Southeastern Conference accolades and he was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. In his first year as a starter, Shockley hit on 153 of 277 passes (55.2 percent) with 21 touchdowns and only five interceptions. The team captain gained 251 yards with four scores on 70 carries (3.6 avg). He also garnered Draddy Award consideration (given for academic excellence and community involvement). In 37 games with the Bulldogs, Shockley started eleven times. He gained 3,278 yards with 31 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 220 of 410 passing (50.7 percent). Shockley also amassed 580 yards with seven scores on 146 rushing attempts (4.4 avg). In 556 plays at Georgia, Shockley totaled 3,850 yards.

positives

Has above average quickness and lateral agility for his position, forcing defenses to account for him when he rolls out of the pocket...Shows good accuracy throwing from the right outside hash and puts good velocity behind his short and intermediate tosses...Hard worker who puts in the extra hours in the film room and after practices to work on his timing with his receivers...Has good field vision and toughness...Rarely rattled under pressure and is not the type who will force the ball into traffic ...Has a fluid over-the-top release and does a good job of squaring his shoulders before unleashing the ball...His good field awareness is evident, as he goes through progression to find his secondary targets...Keeps looking for his targets, standing tall under pressure and is very good at reading coverages...Puts the ball where receivers can catch it with minimal adjustments when going underneath...Does a nice job of hitting his receivers coming out of their breaks before the defense can recover...Highly respected leader with good command in the huddle...Knows how to vary the speed on his throws...Has the speed and agility to drive back from center, set his feet and maintain balance at his launch point.

shockley shows good mental toughness and has full command in the huddle. he is better on underneath routes, but plays with good awareness to go through progression to locate his secondary targets. he does a good job of timing his intermediate throws to hit the receivers coming out of their breaks before the coverage can recover. he will stand tall and step up in the pocket as long as he can in order to find the open target. he also does a nice job of finding his backs thanks to making proper reads most of the time.

His pocket movement is evident, thanks to his ability to sidestep pass rushers and buy time. When he does scramble out of the pocket, he has the balance and second gear to elude the initial tackler. He throws on the move much better from the right hash than the left, as he keeps his shoulders squared to generate better accuracy. The Georgia offense is not set up for Shockley to be a featured runner, but he is effective on the quarterback draw, designed sprint and spontaneous exit.

shockley has a developing frame with adequate overall muscle tone, but is shorter than ideal for the quarterback position. he shows above average quickness and lateral agility, long arms and good power behind his tosses. he is best when rolling out of the pocket, as he maintains velocity when throwing from the outside hashes.

Shockley has a good work ethic and a team-first attitude, as he never complained nor sulked while being relegated to reserve duty his first three years at Georgia (despite better athletic skills than starter David Greene). Shockley has good lower and upper body mechanics in his pass setup. He has a functional over-the-top release, but can also be effective throwing with a three-quarter sidearm motion. He gets a good push off the line of scrimmage in his drops and gets the ball through the throwing arc well. In the past, he showed a bit of a windup in his release, but he corrected that mechanical flaw before the 2005 season.

shockley's tosses have a nice feel when going intermediate. he puts good zip behind his throws, but his deep passes will hang some when tossing into the wind. he shows better accuracy on 15-yard out routes than when going down field. shockley has good timing on short crossing routes and slants, but tends to force his receivers to adjust in their long routes (ball will tail off). he does a good job of putting the ball where the receiver can catch it on underneath tosses. he can get a little inconsistent throwing long when he does not set his feet properly, causing the ball to hang in the air (not going to throw into windows).

Shockley's strong suit is his awareness in the pocket. He senses pressure well and shows the lateral slide to avoid the sack and is not the type who will panic under pressure. His feet reset well and he has the quickness to escape and gain positive yardage running with the ball. He reads coverages well and shows patience waiting for his targets to get open rather than force the pass into traffic (only five interceptions in 2005). He can buy time with his feet, but will not hesitate to run with the ball when he has to.

negatives

Lacks ideal height for the position and might have some problems scanning the field over the taller defensive linemen when working out of the pocket...Has adequate muscle tone, but will need to add some more bulk to withstand punishment under the rush...Has good arm strength, but his deep tosses tend to tail off, forcing his receivers to adjust down field (more than a few of his long bombs were underthrown, but his receivers managed to make the catch by working back to the ball)...Better throwing from the right hash than the left, as he struggles some to set his feet, reverting more to a three-quarter sidearm delivery when throwing from the left side.

Proj Rd:	6-7
Height:	6-1
Weight:	214.0
Forty:	4.56

Arm:
Hand:
Wingspan:	--

Cone:	--
Bench:	--
Shuttle:	--
10:	--

20:	--
40:	--
BJ:	--
VJ:	--

Cone:	7.07
Bench:	--
Shuttle:	4.17
10:	1.59