By Steven A. Gilley
Stevengilley15@aol.com
Hometown favorite and former UGA star, D.J. Shockley, is vying for the final quarterback spot before the roster cuts. Shockley, who made the team last year, is very popular among fans, coaches and players.
"I do (have a sense of his popularity) even with my own teammates," Shockley said. "There always are a lot of guys coming up to me during a game asking me, 'When are you going to play, when are you going to get in?' Just wishing me well.
"That's good when guys you play with have so much confidence in you they want to see you play. On the field, to get the huge ovation you get, to see how many people are supporting you, it feels great."
However, rookie quarterback Matt Ryan has already won the starting nod for the regular season opener on September 7th at the Georgia Dome against the Detroit Lions. Ryan won the job in an open competition and two backup quarterbacks must be chosen by head coach Mike Smith.
Shockley is in a tight competition is former first-round pick, Joey Harrington and Chris Redman, who started the first preseason game. Despite the competition, Shockley is confident about his chances and will get his last chance to show why he should make the cut in the Falcons final preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens Thursday night at 7 p.m.
"It's huge, any game I get in is huge," Shockley said. "Anytime I get any plays is huge. I'm looking at it as an opportunity to go out and help this team. I'm looking forward to a lot of time on the field to get the chance to interact with a lot of the guys and just play."
According to Smith, Ryan will get the first few snaps and Shockley will get the bulk of the snaps, because he only got mop-up duty in the previous preseason games and never received the chance to show himself as a true NFL pro.
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