Long after the euphoria of Georgia winning the national championship, it wasn’t until he was sitting alone in his Indianapolis hotel room that it finally hit Justin Shaffer what he and his teammates accomplished.
Shaffer said it was something he’ll never forget.
“When I got back to my room that night, my roommate wasn’t back yet, and I was getting dressed after I took my shower,” Shaffer said. “I was just sitting on my bed thinking, man, we did this, we won the national championship. It’s still something I think about it.”
No question.
Those national championship memories will undoubtedly return this week when Shaffer and 13 other Bulldogs return to Indianapolis for this week’s NFL Combine.
The event will take place at the same Lucas Oil Stadium where the Bulldogs defeated Alabama back on January 10 for the national crown.
Devonte Wyatt, Jordan Davis, Zamir White, George Pickens, Lewis Cine, Channing Tindall, Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, Travon Walker, Derion Kendrick, James Cook, Jake Camarda, and Jamaree Salyer will also be taking part.
If Senior Bowl week is any indication, Shaffer will enjoy the return.
“I’ve been walking around with my chest out a little bit, just knowing I was a national champion,” said Shaffer, who hopes to follow up a solid outing in Mobile by further showing NFL teams his value ahead of the upcoming draft.
At 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds, as part of the American team, the staff of the Detroit Lions coached Shaffer.
Shaffer said the fact he played under both Sam Pittman and Matt Luke at Georgia will have him ready to play for whatever team gives him an opportunity at a pro career.
“Coach Pittman was more technical. Coach Luke had more high energy, but still technical,” Shaffer said. “We’d be in this down period and have a fade ball to the receiver, and you’d see Coach Luke running down the field celebrating with the receivers.”
Shaffer’s decision to return to Georgia as a “Super Senior” obviously paid off.
It was a season he won’t soon forget.
When asked about what moment galvanized the offensive line during the Bulldogs’ push toward the national crown, Shaffer harkened back to the week before the game against Florida.
That contest was already circled on Georgia’s calendar, but from Shaffer’s perspective, up until that time, there was something missing, something just not quite right with the way the offensive line was performing.
The way Shaffer explained, it was not so much from a technical standpoint, but something was not the way it needed to be.
That changed one afternoon during practice prior to the game in Jacksonville.
“It was coming off that bye week,” Shaffer said. “One of the DBs hit one of our running backs out of bounds, and the whole offensive line came over and jumped on him. I was like wow. I thought I was the only one that really cared about our backs, but after that I realized our whole offensive line cared about them.”
Shaffer said Georgia’s offensive line will be in good hands next fall.
“Oh yeah, Broderick Jones, Sedrick Van Pran, Warren McClendon, Warren Ericson, Xavier Truss, Amarius Mims, all those guys,” Shaffer said. “They’re gonna be fine.”
Shaffer said having the opportunity to play under Kirby Smart was something for which he will always be grateful
Smart’s commitment to excellence rubbed off on the former Cedar Grove standout in a positive way, even on days when the team wasn’t living up to those standards.
When asked the maddest he ever saw Smart, Shaffer laughed.
“It was my freshman year. It was getting ready to play Georgia Tech when they ran the option. We were having a scout team session when it came time to do good on goods,” Shaffer said. “There were some guys not doing what they were supposed to, so he started the whole practice over. That was the maddest I’ve ever seen him.”
Later this week in Indianapolis, he will attempt to parlay those lessons into what he hopes is a long and profitable pro career.
“Just come in and learn the playbook,” Shaffer said of the best advice he’s received thus far. “Just do whatever I can to get on the field. That’s what I plan to do.”
