University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Tony Walsh/UGAAA
Shockley Is ‘Made For This Moment’
July 06, 2023 | Football, General, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
D.J. Shockley was incredibly nervous as he stood inside a packed Sanford Stadium. The former Georgia quarterback, the MVP of the 2005 SEC Championship Game, had performed in front of the Bulldog faithful on many occasions, but this time he was in a suit and overcoat, not a uniform.
Serving as the master of ceremonies for the Georgia football team's national championship celebration on Jan. 15, 2022, Shockley, then pushing 40 and now firmly there, felt the pressure of the moment. It was "humongous," he said.
"Georgia has not won a national championship in 40 years, and I'm going to lead the celebration of it? Here's an instance where I doubted myself, where I said, Man, this may be too big," Shockley said recently. "Maybe somebody else should be doing this."
Hardly.
Shockley had already proved himself as a player and a broadcaster, and on that frigid morning between the hedges, he proved he was more than up to the task of being the emcee for the biggest celebration in school history.
"I thought it was pretty tremendous," he said.
Last month, the UGA Athletic Association announced a new media partnership with FOX 5 Atlanta. Shockley, FOX 5's sports anchor since 2021, will be the new face of local coverage of all Bulldog sports, hosting weekly shows, postgame shows and more, along with his usual work as the sideline reporter on Georgia football radio broadcasts.
"It's a match made in heaven, man," Shockley said. "It's pure joy to be able to say I get to cover the university that I graduated from, that I played for, and most of the time it doesn't work out like that. I'm blessed to be in this position to, first off, work at FOX, and to have the opportunity to cover Georgia on a weekly basis. And cover them in so many different facets.
"I'll not only be on the sideline with the Dawgs and do that part of it with the radio broadcast, but I'll also to be able to cover them for FOX and be able to cover all of the different sports, as well. It's a blessing."
Shockley graduated from Georgia in 2005 with a degree in Speech Communications. He wasn't planning on a career in television at that point, but he said he chose that major because "I just wanted to be able to speak well in front of the camera" during his many media obligations as a player.
"I could always speak, and that wasn't a big issue, but I didn't want to be one of those guys that said 'umm' and 'ugh' and those kinds of things all the time. I also didn't want to be one of those guys that talked for 10-15 minutes and said nothing. That's the kind of guy I did not want to be," he said with a laugh.
Shockley's on-camera career actually started in 2006, while he was still in the NFL as a backup QB with the Falcons. He interviewed his teammates about their lives away from football, and it didn't take long for him to realize that he liked it.
"From that point on, it just kind of took off, from one thing to another," he said. "And once I finished playing, those same people that I was doing shows with were like, 'Have you ever thought about doing TV?'"
In 38 career games with the Bulldogs, Shockley threw for 3,555 yards with 34 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for 643 yards and seven scores. Shockley spent his first three seasons primarily backing up David Greene before finally getting his chance as the starter as a senior, when he threw for 2,588 yards and 24 touchdowns while leading the Bulldogs to the SEC championship. He opened his senior season, his first career start, by throwing five touchdown passes against Boise State.
As a quarterback, Shockley was diligent about watching film of himself and doing everything possible to improve. He has taken the same approach to working in television.
"There are a bunch of things that I watch now when it comes to language or mannerisms or the way I ask questions," he said. "Those are definitely things that I go back and study."
Shockley also credits his wife, Portia, for helping him improve.
"She is my biggest critic, which I love," he said.
An Atlanta native who went on to be a standout quarterback at Georgia, Shockley was drafted by the Falcons in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons as a backup, then spent one season with the Omaha Nighthawks of the short-lived UFL. After that, he turned his full attention to a media career.
Shockley has done everything from calling high school state championships in football and basketball for Georgia Public Broadcasting to co-hosting Falcons radio shows. He's also worked with the Big 10 Network, the ACC Network and the SEC Network. In July 2021, he took over as the sports anchor for Fox 5.
Shockley is thankful for the many opportunities he's had that have allowed him to rise up the broadcasting ranks. He's also thankful that he's been able to stay close to home the whole time rather than spending years working his way up from a small market to a mid-sized station to, hopefully, an anchor job in a big city.
"I'm not naive to the fact that it doesn't happen the way it happened for me," he said.
"The fact that I could be here, in the state, doing predominantly the major sports like Georgia and the Falcons, was tremendous. I'm grateful for the opportunities that I've had and to be a sports anchor in a top-10 market like Atlanta. I do not take it for granted."
When Shockley was questioning himself about hosting the national championship celebration, it was Portia who reminded him of something very important — something that made all the difference.
"It was my wife who said, 'They asked you.' And that made me realize that they feel like I'm capable enough and bring value to be able to run the show," he said.
Soon after, he was there in front of 92,000 or so rabid fans, plus Gov. Brian Kemp, coach Kirby Smart, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, UGA President Jere W. Morehead and more.
"I was truly indebted to the people that asked me to do it," he said. "And I wanted to do it right. And I wanted it to be memorable for everybody."
And to do it right, Shockley did what he did as a player and broadcaster: he went to work preparing as well as he possibly could.
"I may have studied the most I ever had for that," he said. "To be up there, standing in front of all those people, and knowing that everybody wanted to tune in for the first time Georgia had won a national championship in 40 years, it was at first kind of overwhelming, but then I realized that every step in my career, I had to say, You're made for this moment. ...
"It's something that I won't forget for the rest of my life."
There are, hopefully, many more unforgettable moments for Georgia and Shockley to come. And in the years ahead, from day-to-day coverage to celebrating the great triumphs, Shockley will be there to tell you all about it.
Staff Writer
D.J. Shockley was incredibly nervous as he stood inside a packed Sanford Stadium. The former Georgia quarterback, the MVP of the 2005 SEC Championship Game, had performed in front of the Bulldog faithful on many occasions, but this time he was in a suit and overcoat, not a uniform.
Serving as the master of ceremonies for the Georgia football team's national championship celebration on Jan. 15, 2022, Shockley, then pushing 40 and now firmly there, felt the pressure of the moment. It was "humongous," he said.
"Georgia has not won a national championship in 40 years, and I'm going to lead the celebration of it? Here's an instance where I doubted myself, where I said, Man, this may be too big," Shockley said recently. "Maybe somebody else should be doing this."
Hardly.
Shockley had already proved himself as a player and a broadcaster, and on that frigid morning between the hedges, he proved he was more than up to the task of being the emcee for the biggest celebration in school history.
"I thought it was pretty tremendous," he said.
Last month, the UGA Athletic Association announced a new media partnership with FOX 5 Atlanta. Shockley, FOX 5's sports anchor since 2021, will be the new face of local coverage of all Bulldog sports, hosting weekly shows, postgame shows and more, along with his usual work as the sideline reporter on Georgia football radio broadcasts.
"It's a match made in heaven, man," Shockley said. "It's pure joy to be able to say I get to cover the university that I graduated from, that I played for, and most of the time it doesn't work out like that. I'm blessed to be in this position to, first off, work at FOX, and to have the opportunity to cover Georgia on a weekly basis. And cover them in so many different facets.
"I'll not only be on the sideline with the Dawgs and do that part of it with the radio broadcast, but I'll also to be able to cover them for FOX and be able to cover all of the different sports, as well. It's a blessing."
Shockley graduated from Georgia in 2005 with a degree in Speech Communications. He wasn't planning on a career in television at that point, but he said he chose that major because "I just wanted to be able to speak well in front of the camera" during his many media obligations as a player.
"I could always speak, and that wasn't a big issue, but I didn't want to be one of those guys that said 'umm' and 'ugh' and those kinds of things all the time. I also didn't want to be one of those guys that talked for 10-15 minutes and said nothing. That's the kind of guy I did not want to be," he said with a laugh.
Shockley's on-camera career actually started in 2006, while he was still in the NFL as a backup QB with the Falcons. He interviewed his teammates about their lives away from football, and it didn't take long for him to realize that he liked it.
"From that point on, it just kind of took off, from one thing to another," he said. "And once I finished playing, those same people that I was doing shows with were like, 'Have you ever thought about doing TV?'"
In 38 career games with the Bulldogs, Shockley threw for 3,555 yards with 34 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for 643 yards and seven scores. Shockley spent his first three seasons primarily backing up David Greene before finally getting his chance as the starter as a senior, when he threw for 2,588 yards and 24 touchdowns while leading the Bulldogs to the SEC championship. He opened his senior season, his first career start, by throwing five touchdown passes against Boise State.
As a quarterback, Shockley was diligent about watching film of himself and doing everything possible to improve. He has taken the same approach to working in television.
"There are a bunch of things that I watch now when it comes to language or mannerisms or the way I ask questions," he said. "Those are definitely things that I go back and study."
Shockley also credits his wife, Portia, for helping him improve.
"She is my biggest critic, which I love," he said.
An Atlanta native who went on to be a standout quarterback at Georgia, Shockley was drafted by the Falcons in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons as a backup, then spent one season with the Omaha Nighthawks of the short-lived UFL. After that, he turned his full attention to a media career.
Shockley has done everything from calling high school state championships in football and basketball for Georgia Public Broadcasting to co-hosting Falcons radio shows. He's also worked with the Big 10 Network, the ACC Network and the SEC Network. In July 2021, he took over as the sports anchor for Fox 5.
Shockley is thankful for the many opportunities he's had that have allowed him to rise up the broadcasting ranks. He's also thankful that he's been able to stay close to home the whole time rather than spending years working his way up from a small market to a mid-sized station to, hopefully, an anchor job in a big city.
"I'm not naive to the fact that it doesn't happen the way it happened for me," he said.
"The fact that I could be here, in the state, doing predominantly the major sports like Georgia and the Falcons, was tremendous. I'm grateful for the opportunities that I've had and to be a sports anchor in a top-10 market like Atlanta. I do not take it for granted."
When Shockley was questioning himself about hosting the national championship celebration, it was Portia who reminded him of something very important — something that made all the difference.
"It was my wife who said, 'They asked you.' And that made me realize that they feel like I'm capable enough and bring value to be able to run the show," he said.
Soon after, he was there in front of 92,000 or so rabid fans, plus Gov. Brian Kemp, coach Kirby Smart, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, UGA President Jere W. Morehead and more.
"I was truly indebted to the people that asked me to do it," he said. "And I wanted to do it right. And I wanted it to be memorable for everybody."
And to do it right, Shockley did what he did as a player and broadcaster: he went to work preparing as well as he possibly could.
"I may have studied the most I ever had for that," he said. "To be up there, standing in front of all those people, and knowing that everybody wanted to tune in for the first time Georgia had won a national championship in 40 years, it was at first kind of overwhelming, but then I realized that every step in my career, I had to say, You're made for this moment. ...
"It's something that I won't forget for the rest of my life."
There are, hopefully, many more unforgettable moments for Georgia and Shockley to come. And in the years ahead, from day-to-day coverage to celebrating the great triumphs, Shockley will be there to tell you all about it.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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