Drama can be intoxicating when it comes to the recruiting process. For 2016

No. 1 prospect Jacob Eason, the limelight and the big stage were the

last things he wanted.

The Lake Stevens, Wash., five-star quarterback is the Rivals.com Junior of the

Year -- the top-rated player after tremendous sophomore and junior seasons --

and he's not waiting to make his college choice on national television with a

climactic hat ceremony.

Eason camped at Georgia this summer, felt incredibly comfortable with

everything in Athens and quickly made his commitment to the Bullogs in mid-July.

That's it. Over and done.

"I committed early because Georgia was the place," Eason said. "I saw it and I

saw a couple other schools before that and I didn't really feel like waiting.

There was no reason to really make a big national TV commitment or whatever and

wait it out.

"I committed and got it out of the way so I could focus on recruiting other guys

to come in there and build that bigger class around me. I wanted to focus on

high school and play ball here for my senior year and be a kid again."

His father, Tony, played at Notre Dame but never pushed his son to the

Irish. Everybody and their mother offered or were involved early on but Georgia

gave Eason everything he was looking for so he ended it.

Eason, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound prospect who threw for 2,829 yards with 32

touchdowns and three interceptions as a junior, respects coach Mark Richt.

Georgia switched offensive coordinators from Mike Bobo to Brian Schottenheimer and that was not an issue. Tony Eason called the new hire a

"home run" and "icing on the cake."

"He came out and I finally met him in person," Eason said. "I've been on the phone a lot with him. He's a great guy, Bobo was a

great guy, but we're not going to miss anything with Schottenheimer, either. He

has that pro experience and he knows how to get guys to the next level so I'm

excited."

It was not just a singular aspect of Georgia that convinced Eason it was the

right place. Everything seems to have worked for him.

"You can't really pinpoint one thing," Eason said. "The coaching staff with

coach Richt, he's a great guy. Now they have coach Schottenheimer. I didn't know

that back then, because they had coach Bobo but they have coach Schottenheimer

now which is another great fit for Georgia.

"The academics are great. They have some good stuff going there. The fan base

and the community, I felt really welcome when I went down there. The overall

feel of the place, it just felt right to me."

And then there are the Matthew Stafford comparisons. The big arm, the

No. 1 quarterback ranking, the pocket presence and ability to deliver the ball

down the field.

"Eason reminds me of a taller Matt Stafford at the same level of development,

very strong arm, good footwork, solid accuracy and excellent touch on the ball,"

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell said. "He needs to tighten

his release a little bit, but that's natural for a long, tall quarterback. He

will be much taller and likely thicker in the end than Stafford and his ceiling

is higher because he is still early in his development. He sees the field very

well, has a good feel in the pocket for pressure and I can see him having a ton

of success in the Georgia offense where he will have a great run game to support

him. He can work off play action quite a bit."

For Georgia's coaches, it is a tremendous recruiting tool. For Eason, living up

to the Stafford billing is certainly high praise but something that intrigues

the Lake Stevens standout.

"That is one of my goals, to be like him," Eason said. "I'm nowhere near anything

like him yet. I do look at that as a goal to get to, but I don't feel any

accomplishment with the comparison yet."

Eason has been committed for a little more than six months and already there

have been storylines that could have affected his recruitment.

The Bulldogs have switched offensive coordinators. New Michigan coach

Jim Harbaugh's plane was tracked to tiny Arlington Municipal Airport

last week and news broke that Harbaugh was in town to meet with Eason -- the

same day Schottenheimer was there.

The 2016 five-star said he plans to be courteous to all the coaches that will

continue recruiting him like Harbaugh tried last week.

Others will come and go -- and Eason said he plans to be respectful along the

way.

"You don't want to close any doors," Eason said. "You don't know where these

guys are going to pop up in the future. Harbaugh could go back in the (NFL), so

I don't want to close the door on him and treat him like crap. I want to keep

everything open and be nice to everybody."

Nice to everybody and still committed to Georgia, unless an unforeseen complete

upheaval occurs over the next year or so.

"If something does happen at Georgia then maybe I could keep these options open

so I can look at some other schools," Eason said. "If nothing happens and

everything is clean then Georgia is the place."

Free of drama, like it's always been with Eason.