D.J. Shockley, the last Georgia QB to start 7-0, has some wise words for the emerging Dawgs
Count D.J. Shockley among the massive amount of people who have been impressed by Georgia so far.
The former Georgia quarterback and current ESPN college football analyst has a viewpoint similar to what most have of the unbeaten Dawgs. That is, the defense has been as advertised under Kirby Smart — even Alabama-like — and the offense has been more efficient than people expected.
“Kirby has them playing at a lights out level. I think everybody’s happy right now,” Shockley said. “And honestly, being 5-0 is big.”
Shockley knows a little something about being 5-0. When he was finally handed the keys to the Bulldogs’ offense as a senior in 2005, he fueled a 7-0 start. No Georgia team since then has been able to get to 7-0.
The preseason expectations have been there for Georgia before, but the early-season dominance has not. Well, it hasn’t been there until this year’s team shot up to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll after outscoring its first two SEC opponents 72-3.
Georgia is expected to at least tie Shockley’s 2005 mark with two favorable matchups (at Vanderbilt, vs. Missouri) on the horizon. The SEC East and College Football Playoff buzz only figures to grow in the coming weeks.
But Shockley would caution any Georgia player or coach who’s already thinking about that.
“The biggest thing is you’ve got to stay in the moment,” he said. “You can’t look too far ahead and you can’t worry about what anybody else is doing. At the end of the day, if you prepare yourself for today, you prepare your team, you make sure that you are the best prepared team that you can be going into every game, then down the road, that takes care of itself and you’ll be ready when the time comes.
“I think a lot of people worry about where they’re ranked or who they’re playing later on and then you slip up and you lose a game like you did to Vanderbilt last year. You can’t allow those situations to seep out of your mind.”

Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
It was Vanderbilt that threw cold water on Georgia’s bid to stay in the East race in 2016. By the time the Cocktail Party rolled around, the Bulldogs already had three SEC losses. If Georgia does get to 7-0 this year, the Cocktail Party could serve as an East title game.
Shockley remembers what it was like to go into that game riding a 7-0 start.
“It was what you came to the University of Georgia for,” Shockley said. “You came there for opportunities like that, for moments like that, to have that kind of feeling on a campus like that when everybody is all in. I mean, everybody is all in. Everybody is behind you and the atmosphere is just so different than when you’ve lost a game or at the bottom end of the Top 25.
“I tell you, it’s something that I won’t ever forget. You kind of miss it at times.”
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The similarities between Shockley’s squad and this year’s team are obvious. Both had dominant defenses, both had first-time starting quarterbacks who rarely made mistakes and both had run-first offenses that got the job done.
But there was a key difference between his team and this year’s Georgia team.
- Former Georgia QB D.J. Shockley
The 2017 Georgia squad was the overwhelming preseason favorite to win the division, though few predicted the Bulldogs to be sitting in the top five in the first week of October. The 2005 Georgia squad, on the other hand, was picked to finish third in the East behind Florida and Tennessee.
“To be in that spot, we were looking at it as ‘we have so much to prove,’ ” Shockley said. “Week in, week out, we felt like we hadn’t gotten the respect that we deserved.”
Part of that could have stemmed from the fact that USC and Texas spent the entire season ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. That, of course, was later justified when they faced off in arguably the best national championship game in college football history. Often forgotten nationally were the teams like Georgia, which, as Shockley said, believed it could line up with anyone.

Credit: UGA Sports Communications
A similar situation could unfold with this year’s Georgia team. Alabama and Clemson are at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and all the talk seems to be focused on the two programs matching up in the national championship for the third consecutive year.
Shockley believes this Georgia team can also line up with anyone, including Alabama. The 2017 Bulldogs could get a shot that Shockley’s squad didn’t get. That is, they could still have national title hopes alive heading into a potential SEC Championship.
With Shockley sidelined with an injury for the Florida game, the 2005 Bulldogs spoiled their unbeaten start in Jacksonville. Even though they blew out LSU in the SEC Championship, they still finished the season 3-3. It was another Georgia season that fell just short of reaching the top of the college football mountain.
This year’s Georgia team hopes to buck that trend. No letdowns. No close-but-no-cigar games against elite teams. No “good, but not great” narratives at season’s end. The Bulldogs have a long way to go to do just that.
Shockley is confident in Smart’s ability to humble his team by flipping on the film. The Bulldogs are 5-0, but they haven’t been perfect. To beat Alabama — or any team that somehow beats Alabama — they’ll have to be perfect.
Before they can do that, though, they should remember the wise words from someone who has been there before.
“If I could tell them anything,” Shockley said, “it’d be make sure you guys focus on each game plan, each particular series and don’t take any play or any game for granted.”
Time to stop this talk about “Alabama like” “Alabama East” and all that other nonsense. This team is Georgia Like, heavily populated by Georgia born and bred players and making the home folks very happy. Now let’s take it one game at a time and enjoy the season as it unfolds and once it ends.
I agree, I just don’t see Georgia as “Alabama like” at all, but it is starting to look like the Georgia of old, and Alabama should take notice. I predict Georgia dethrones bama within 3 years. Look out west the east is coming for you. If I could convince the Mizzou AD to wipe the slate clean and start over, we may even get to help out.
Until then go DAWGS!!!
We were in Columbia West for the UGA-MIZZ game in 2012 that kicked off your SEC membership. We still talk about the hospitality, warm greetings, genuine happiness that we found. I do hope you can clean house and start over again. The inmates cannot run the asylum or this is the result. Get someone to take charge and move forward.
Lol, talking about “dethroning” Alabama as the best team in the SEC? Let’s be serious. As long as the Nicktator is still HC, we know who the best team will be consistently. We could possibly drop a game to Georgia, but it would only happen once.
By the way, get used to comparisons because EVERYTHING is compared to a standard. We are the standard in CFB.
Don’t turn around, you might not like what you see closing fast.
The point of being up front is never having to turn around.
Every previous dynasty said the same thing before being de-throned. Every. Single. One.
Not saying that UGA is going to knock Bama off the SEC perch and into the gutter, but the days of Bama running roughshod over the entire conference may be numbered. Kirby is upping the ante. Just think back to the 2012 SECCG, the only time Bama has been seriously challenged in that game since 2009. Those are the kind of tilts I see in the future. Maybe not this year, but soon. Very soon.
The dynasty will end but Georgia will not have anything to do with it.
You mean back to 5 years ago when UGA had a different coach? Sure Bama’s run will.eventually end but looking at the entire history of CFB they have out performed UGA…. Maybe worry about winning your division first since you haven’t managed to do that…. Mid season Champs….
I love confidence. I really love that “we’re untouchable”, over confidence in the other team.
Lmao root for your team not a division that you are at the bottom of..
That 2005 team lost 3 games by a total of 8 points…..
Bama fans have a way of forgetting the “Mike Price lap dances” or the “Mike Shula” era of Bama football. UGA played Arky in the 2002 SECCG because Bama was on probation. 2007 Saban’s 1st year at Bama they lost to UL-Monroe @ Home….Bama is on one heck of a run no doubt but they weren’t always untouchable.