Justin Shaffer: "I knew I had a chip on my shoulder..."
What’s the age-old trope about the journey and the destination? If you were to ask Georgia offensive lineman Justin Shaffer, you’d get an exceptionally honest answer.
It’s not been the smoothest of paths for the senior out of Cedar Grove, Georgia. The 2017 and 2018 seasons saw him earn action as a reserve offensive lineman on some highly-touted offensive lines. The 2019 season was a different one in many ways. He got off to a great start, earning extensive playing time against Notre Dame following an injury to former lineman Solomon Kindley. Shaffer then earned consecutive starts against Tennessee and South Carolina.
Disappointingly, Shaffer suffered a neck sprain against the Gamecocks that sidelined him for several months and forced him into a neck brace to heal.
“Heading to the hospital during the South Carolina game, the whole thing going through my mind was playing and getting back,” said Shaffer. “Once I was told everything was good and I still had another chance to play, I just took the rehab and stuck with it.”
Shaffer received word of his medical clearance in January and immediately went back to work. The Covid-19 outbreak, while devastating and unfortunate, gave Shaffer the opportunity he needed to get back into shape and place himself firmly in the battle for a starting spot on an offensive line that was losing three NFL guys in Kindley, Andrew Thomas, and Isaiah Wilson.
“It was a bit challenging,” Shaffer said of getting back into shape. “I feel like the coronavirus break helped me out a lot. I went down to train in Miami, and I was just working. I knew I had a chip on my shoulder, and I had to get back in that starting five.”
He cracked the starting five, all right.
Shaffer played the most snaps of any Georgia offensive lineman against Arkansas in Week 1. The left guard was on the field for 88 of 95 snaps (93 percent). New left tackle Jamaree Salyer played the second most at 82.
Shaffer, having been on the field more than any other linemen, admitted his unit couldn’t exactly find their “groove,” claiming that he and his teammates “need to get on the same page.”
“We practice each and every day to be the best, but we didn’t come out there at our best,” said Shaffer.
Georgia hosts Auburn this Saturday night. When asked about the challenge Auburn’s defensive line could pose this weekend, Shaffer wasn’t shy about giving them credit.
“Those boys play hard,” he said. “They look good on film. They look like they’re in shape. They’re just going to go every play, so we’ve got to come with our A-game. I feel like we’ve picked it up a little bit. We’re confident and we’re ready.”