Eason solidly in Georgia QB mix
HOOVER, Ala. -- It’s difficult to take pity on Jacob Eason.
The former five-star quarterback stands 6-foot-5 with an infectious smile. He was ranked as the No. 1 pro-style passer in the country out of high school, from which he graduated early, and starred in a viral snap chat video that saw him having a blast at a University of Florida bar during a recruiting trip. These days, he’s a quarterback at Georgia and has a real shot to land a starting job in the SEC as a true freshman.
A sob story this is not.
Still, sitting behind a table at SEC Media day, Bulldogs’ tight end Jeb Blazevich tosses sympathy in Eason’s direction.
“He came in with a lot of pressure and a lot of attention,” Blazevich said. “I kinda felt bad for him.”
Nobody will feel bad for Eason this fall, though. Especially not Brice Ramsey or Greyson Lambert, the other quarterbacks with whom he’s competing. A true freshman with a world of hype and a lofty recruiting ranking, Eason has rather abruptly crashed this competition. And so wonderkid and the quarterback situation as a whole were hot topics during the UGA portion of Tuesday’s event.
For every bit of haziness when it comes to the Bulldogs’ quarterback situation, one thing was made clear. If Eason fails to win the job, it won’t be based on a lack of seniority. If Ramsey or Lambert win the spot, their reasons will be forthright. Just how much will time in the program figure into his decision? Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who arrived in Hoover without a quarterback in tow, has a direct answer to that.
“Zero,” Smart said. “I mean, the options we're going to weigh are going to be what gives us the best chance to win. … We're going to play the best player that gives us the best opportunity to win football games. And I don't know who that is.”
Eason may or may not win the starting job. The freshman is just as likely to hold a clipboard as he is to hold the ball during a critical fourth-quarter drive. Still, early returns indicate that he’s in the thick of the hunt.
“He’s obviously worth [the hype],” Blazevich said of Eason. “He has an awesome arm. He’s a really good guy and I’m really excited to see him compete against Brice and Greyson.”
Junior defensive back Dominick Sanders echoed Blazevich’s sentiment before taking it a step further. If Eason isn’t at least poised to make a splash in camp, current UGA players have impressive poker faces.
Everyone’s words are measured, sure. That’s by design. Still, certain things manage to bleed through the clichés.
“The kid can throw,” Sanders said of Eason. “The kid is very talented and a very hard worker. It’s a pleasure going against him every day.”
And so the final battle is set to begin. Smart has no timetable for naming a starter, but insists camp will begin with the three horses at the same starting line. The final leg of this race, it seems, will be a sprint.
“We are devoted to practicing the right way and getting each guy good reps,” Smart said. “We went back and looked before came in the spring. We ended up 30 percent, 29 percent, 29 percent of the reps taken. That's right at 90 percent of those three guys, and they were pretty balanced in the reps they took.”