Former University of Georgia football starting quarterback Jacob Eason declared for the NFL draft after one year starting for the University of Washington Huskies, back in his home state. Indications are that his measurable qualities may push him up some teams’ draft boards.
In a feature article, Mike Silver, a columnist for NFL.com, ruminated on Eason’s interesting path through college football to the combine, ultimately lumping him in the second-tier of current NFL draftees, “…that includes Utah State’s Jordan Love and, yes, Georgia’s Fromm.”
Joe Burrow, Tua Tagoviloa and Justin Herbert are fairly consensus 1-2-3 as far as quarterbacks at the top. I personally projected Fromm fourth with Eason fifth, in an earlier piece for UGA Wire.
At the time of the switch at UGA from coach Mark Richt to Kirby Smart, retaining top recruit Eason in Athens was considered the biggest “get” of the first recruiting class Smart had as a head coach. Eason had flirted with the Florida Gators and made a late visit to Gainesville, Fla., before honoring his earlier verbal commitment to UGA.
In the opening contest of the season versus UNC in Atlanta, Eason came off the bench in replacement of incumbent starter Greyson Lambert, who was struggling to get passes off. Eason won the game, which saw Nick Chubb run for 222 yards in his first game back from injury. Eason never yielded the position that year, going just 8-5 as a starter at UGA.
That mark as starter includes the first game of the next season, when Eason was injured and replaced by Fromm, who went on to lead Georgia to seasonal win totals of: 13, 11, 12, before declaring for the NFL.
An unnamed NFC head coach is quoted in the article as saying of Eason, “He partied hard early, but he has matured.”
I actually ran into him out the night before the 11 a.m.-kick Liberty Bowl in Memphis. His cocky attitude on display, long flowing hair, tight Euro suit and reputation for being out late struck me as potentially problematic for a young team leader, of a then-struggling program.
He can fling it. Eason has that tall stature of a classic pocket passer and a very strong arm, throws a tight spiral and can drop balls in at times. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said, “With Eason, teams are literally all over the map.”
My primary concern with him is his low winning percentage. Georgia won 10 three years in a row before he got the nod, as a true freshman. Washington was coming off winning 12, 10 and 10 in three years.
He went just 8-5, and then he skipped a would-be senior season.