Richt: Shockley Had it Tougher

Comparisons between two players are rarely fair, but it's hard to avoid the obvious ones between D.J. Shockley and Joe Cox. Both players chose to stay at Georgia and ride the bench for four years, and both finally landed a starting job in their final seasons. For the most part, however, that's where the comparisons end.

Still, that hasn't stopped many fans and pundits from wondering if Cox can repeat the SEC championship-winning performance Shockley gave Georgia in his last season, leading the expectations on Georgia's new QB to be pretty high.

But while Cox may be a bit unfairly judged by what Shockley accomplished, Mark Richt thinks that his current quarterback has actually had it a bit easier than his old one did.

"If you remember, Shockley's last game he played a lot in was Georgia Tech on a cold, wet day, and he didn't play very well," Richt said. "So there was a lot of people, a large contingent of fans who were like, 'This kid can't do it.' I think Shockley came into the season with more doubters than what Joe's coming into the season with, in my opinion. I had full confidence in Shockley, and I think his teammates did, too, but a lot of people were concerned about him taking over after that last performance."