Georgia’s spring game reaffirmed what many of us already knew: Jacob Eason should be the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs in 2016.
This comment is almost certain to raise a few eyebrows. After all, Greyson Lambert went 10-2 as the starter for UGA last season. In addition, Brice Ramsey – the backup quarterback last fall – was solid in the spring game, completing 16-of-25 passes for 224 yards, with a couple of 35-plus-yard completions. Given that Kirby Smart said in February Eason was “the third quarterback competing for the job,” it seemed he would need a fantastic spring in order to earn the top spot.
Saturday’s performance did exactly that. Playing mostly with the second-string offense, Eason turned in the best effort of the afternoon, completing 19-of-29 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown. He was especially impressive throwing deep, connecting with Riley Ridley on a perfect pass for a 35-yard completion in his first series, and hitting Reggie Davis on a streak route in the fourth quarter for 37 yards. This ability to stretch the field is exactly what the Dawgs need to prevent opposing defenses from loading the box to stop Nick Chubb and Sony Michel in the fall.
Despite his awesome outing on Saturday, Kirby Smart did not tab him as the starter. When asked if Eason should be the guy, he responded:
“Why would people say that? To me, he ended up 60-something percent. Brice was 60-something percent. Greyson had two drops and one bad decision but he was right at 50 percent with a couple of drops. For people to say that, maybe they should go to coaching 101. I don’t see that being the case. What I see going into fall camp is three guys who have three different traits and all three of them have got some growing to do and that’s what I want them to do, is improve.”
Great question, Coach. I’ll be happy to respond in just one simple sentence.
The reason it makes sense to tab Eason the starter is because it’s the best thing for your program.
While the numbers were pretty much even, it was evident to everyone in the stadium that Eason was the most talented signal caller on the field. If – and it’s big if – the competition is even close (as Smart’s comments above suggest), it’s better to go ahead and tab him as the guy, so that he gets plenty of reps with the starters, and gets the opportunity to play against the number one defense. That way, he’ll get used to the speed of the game, and learn all the lessons young quarterbacks typically learn with game experience. After all, it’s better to make the mistakes in practice now than in an SEC contest, when a single mistake can knock you out of the race.
There’s not a down side to making this decision. Should Eason struggle – and I’ll go on record as saying I don’t think he will – the Dawgs could still turn to Lambert and/or Ramsey, who both have done a great job of coming off the bench in their careers. As upperclassmen, both of these triggermen know how to prepare for a game, and would be ready to guide UGA to victory if their numbers were called.
Either way, the Dawgs will be in position to win games this season, and to also groom Eason to be the quarterback of the future.
It’s tough to argue with those results, which is why Smart should name him the starter right now.
