Justin Shaffer Discusses Off-Season Preparations, 2020 Season

Senior offensive lineman Justin Shaffer discusses his preparations going into the season, and looking ahead to playing Auburn on Saturday.

Justin Shaffer is now in his senior year as a Bulldog, originally a part of Kirby Smart's 2017 recruiting class that really changed the direction of the program.

Shaffer was primarily being used as a reserve in his first two years with the program, but his usage was turned up a notch in 2019. After taking the majority of LG reps during the Notre Dame game, Shaffer got his first two collegiate starts against Tennessee and South Carolina. However, an injury took Shaffer out of the mix for the remainder of the season.

In the off-season, Shaffer was poised to find his way back into the starting group. He did just that this past week, getting the start in versus Arkansas

On what the offensive line has been doing to prepare after Arkansas…

"Coach [Matt] Luke is doing a great job rotating everyone in and out. I just felt we needed to get on one page. This week we practiced staying on the same page, everybody staying on the ball, hustling to the ball. Just doing the right things. We just couldn't get into a groove that we needed to give us that push."
On getting back in shape for this season…

"It was challenging, but quarantine helped me a lot. I went down to train in Miami and was working out because I had a chip on my shoulder. I knew I had to get back into that starting five."

On him playing his senior season after his various injuries…

"The only thing that was going through my mind was playing and getting back. When Dr. Ron [Courson] told me everything was going to be okay, I did rehab and did what I had to do."

On Auburn's D-Line...

"They play hard and they look good on film. They're in shape and they're going to go on every play, so we have to come out with our 'A' game."

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