No. 3 now, Shockley could get his chance

Flowery Branch —- Let’s say D.J. Shockley does the plausible as the No. 3 quarterback for the Falcons and zips by Chris Redman to become the No. 2 guy.

Let’s say first-year offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey continues as the NFL’s Inspector Gadget and devises a package for the mobile Shockley to complement the statuesque Matt Ryan.

Let’s say this Shockley resembles that other Shockley who was a folk hero at Georgia after winning the SEC championship game and setting a slew of school records during his only year as a starter.

Let’s say Ryan does what most NFL rookie quarterbacks do, and that is, sputter more often than not, especially with an iffy (OK, brutal) offensive line.

Now let’s say folks do what they always do, and that is, scream for the backup quarterback. Actually, in this case, let’s say folks bark themselves red and black for the backup quarterback.

You don’t stick with the $72 million man as your starter. You switch to the guy who can help you fill all of those empty seats you’ll have this season.

“I’m going to tell you right now, man,” said Don Shockley, the proud father who coached his all-state son at North Clayton High School. “Bottom line is that, if D.J. ever gets a chance to take over this thing, he’ll set the town on fire.”

This sounds familiar. The older Shockley told me the same thing when his son spent four seasons behind former Georgia starter David Greene. The younger Shockley eventually ignored the pressure of replacing somebody who evolved into the winningest quarterback in Division I history to become one of the nation’s most prolific quarterbacks in 2005.

So the older Shockley was correct then, and the same goes for now. All the younger Shockley needs is a chance. He got part of it last week when the Falcons cut the underwhelming Joey Harrington and kept the people’s choice.

“When I’m out walking around, people always are coming up to me to say that they’re pulling for me, and that they’ve been watching me a while, and to just keep up the hard work,” said D.J. Shockley, who joined Redman on Wednesday for extra work after practice. “Another thing people say is, ‘I’m waiting for you to play,’ and ‘I’m waiting for you to get your opportunity.’ Mainly they’ll say, ‘When you get your chance, just be ready.’ “

Shockley is ready. What about the Falcons? “We just want to see how far he develops, especially since he has missed as much as he has with that injury,” said Mularkey, referring to Shockley’s damaged knee that kept him out of last season. He ran the Falcons’ scout team before that as an NFL rookie. Now Shockley has Mularkey as his immediate boss, and during his previous career stops, Mularkey used gadget plays to turn versatile quarterbacks Kordell Stewart and Antwaan Randle El into significant players.

Is Shockley next? “We haven’t really gotten into that, because we’re still trying to evaluate him as a quarterback instead of as a specialty-type, slash-type player,” Mularkey said. “To move him around and to take advantage of his skills, I mean, that’s something that maybe is in the future.”

This isn’t a maybe: Shockley will do well for somebody in the NFL. It could be for the Falcons, and sooner than you think.

tlmoore@ajc.com