D . J . Shockley Donald Eugene " D . J . " Shockley ( born March 23 , 1983 ) 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 where he served as a backup quarterback for four and a half years . He played college football at the University of Georgia . He is also a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity . Early years . D . J . 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 . Shockley became the starting quarterback by his sophomore season at North Clayton High . He threw 28 touchdowns and for more than 3 , 200 yards his final two seasons while rushing for nearly 1 , 600 yards . The native of College Park , Georgia was a highly recruited QB earning various national accolades : 2000 " USA Today " All - USA Second Team , Max Emfinger ' s Top 125 players ( # 1 Athletic quarterback ) , 2000 " Parade Magazine " All - America Team , SUPERPREP Elite 50 ( " SuperPrep ' s " No . 1 ranked QB ) , The " Atlanta Journal - Constitution " Super Southern 100 , Top 50 in Georgia , Marvelous Metro Eleven , Class AAAA All - State Quarterback , and 2000 Georgia Sports Writers Association Class AAAA All - State Quarterback . Collegiate career . UGA ' s new incoming head 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 four 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 415 yards with five TDs and a pass efficiency rating of 152 . 62 . He rushed for 111 yards and two 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 . One of Shockley ' s finest moments as a redshirt freshman came on October 26 of that year as he and Greene combined to throw for a school - record six touchdown passes in Georgia ' s comeback win over Kentucky , 52 – 24 . The Wildcats , playing in their own stadium , had led 24 – 21 at the half . Shockley went 10 - of - 14 passing for 102 yards and two touchdowns as coach Richt rotated him into the game every third series during the contest . In 2003 , Shockley injured his knee midway through the season and finished with 9 - of - 21 pass attempts for 88 yards and one touchdown . He added another 101 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown in six games . In 2004 , Shockley completed 26 - of - 60 ( 43 . 3 % ) passes for 464 yards with four touchdowns and one interception . He had 24 rushes for 113 yards in 10 games . 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 , six touchdown effort ( 289 yards , 5 TDs passing ; 85 yards , 1 TD rushing ) against the Broncos . He 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 and 24 touchdowns with five interceptions . He also gained 322 yards rushing in 78 attempts with four 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 September 3 , 2005 against Boise State . In Georgia ' s seventh game of the season against Arkansas , Shockley had to leave early in the second quarter with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee . Because of his injury , he had to sit out Georgia ' s eighth game of the season against one of the school ' s most hated rivals , the University of Florida Gators , in the Florida vs . Georgia Football Classic . Redshirt junior Joe Tereshinski III was named the starter , and he finished the game completing 8 - of - 21 passes for 100 yards and an interception . Georgia lost the game , 14 – 10 . Shockley returned for the ninth game of the season on November 12 against the Auburn Tigers , but despite playing very well , completing 20 - of - 36 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns and running eight times for another 40 yards , Georgia lost the game 31 – 30 on a last - second field goal to fall to 7 – 2 on the season . After beating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 14 – 7 , Georgia went on to play the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship game . Shockley threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Georgia won the game , 34 – 14 , to claim the 2005 SEC Championship title . Shockley was named the MVP of the SEC Championship game . The University of Georgia ' s football season and Shockley ' s collegiate career ended with a 38 – 35 loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Nokia Sugar Bowl on January 2 , 2006 . Despite the loss , Shockley had an excellent performance throwing for 277 yards ( on 20 completions in 33 attempts ) and three touchdowns while running for 71 yards on eight carries . Shockley won the FCA Bobby Bowden Football Player of the Year Award , finished third in the voting for the Associated Press Player of the Year , and led Georgia to a 10 – 3 record and the No . 10 ranking nationally by the AP College Football Poll during his senior year . Professional career . 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 did not 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 . During the next season , Omaha re - signed Shockley to the team on July 15 , 2011 . The Nighthawks later released him during training camp on September 2 , 2011 . On September 27 , 2011 Shockley was re - signed by the Omaha Nighthawks due to their current starter , Eric Crouch , being placed on injured reserve . Shockley ' s Omaha Nighthawks finished 2011 at 1 – 4 as their only win came on October 1 against Sacramento in a close one , 33 – 30 . Personal . Shockley is a reserve quarterback in the UFL . He and his wife , Portia , have a daughter named Milan . References . Additional sources . • " Athlon Sports " – 2001 Southeastern College Football Edition ( magazine )