Former UGA great D.J. Shockley details the important offseason ahead for Jacob Eason

After two years of anticipation, Jacob Eason showed a lot of promise in his first season at Georgia, but there were notable growing pains as well.

It was a weekly trial-by-fire for the true freshman, who finished the year with 2,430 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Eason’s physical gifts were apparent, but he struggled with consistency and the finer points of being a starting quarterback in the SEC.

In the coming months, Eason will begin a learning process that former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley remembers well.

“He’s going to have more time to do the film work, because he’s not preparing for a game,” Shockley told Saturday Down South. “The mental part of his game is probably going to be strengthened a little bit more, and once he gets into the spring and summer, that’s when he’ll work on the fundamentals and the physical side of things.”

Shockley knows what it takes to succeed as a quarterback in the SEC. The MVP of the 2005 SEC Championship Game, Shockley earned the Bulldogs their most recent conference title.

Although Georgia fell short of some of the fanbase’s loftier expectations in 2016, Shockley believes Eason earned valuable playing time in his first year. Going through the ebbs and flows of a full season gave the freshman quarterback a better understanding for the future.

During the fall, there were plenty of moments that seemingly justified Eason’s immense recruiting hype. The game-winning 20-yard touchdown pass at Missouri; a perfectly-thrown bomb with 10 seconds left to take the lead against Tennessee; a big-stage debut that spurred a big victory for the new regime.

It wasn’t all so easy for the former 5-star prospect, however, but the lows may mean even more than the highs.

“There were a lot of mistakes, too,” Shockley said. “There were a lot of things he could learn from. Sometimes you learn more from the mistakes than you do when you have a game-winning throw or something like that, and I thought that was big for him.”

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Eason’s arm strength proved to be above reproach, but his accuracy was not. Touch passes gave Eason trouble, and he struggled to lock in on the deep ball, which should have been an advantage for Georgia.

Fortunately, the offseason will provide Eason and the coaching staff with ample time to work on those shortcomings. No longer is this a weekly crash course.

“Some of the things that I saw that I’m sure he’s going to be working on during the offseason were just the small things,” Shockley told SDS. “The fundamentals, the footwork, the simple things when coming out of the huddle, playing with pace, recognizing defenses and understanding what they’re trying to do to you.”

Time in the classroom might be even more important than time on the practice field, though. Shockley believes this game is 60 percent mental for a quarterback and 40 percent physical. Therefore, the greatest improvement might come from Eason’s knowledge of everything happening around him.

“I think the biggest thing for him was just being able to get the speed of the game and then understanding that the fundamentals are just as important as having a strong arm,” Shockley said. “You’ve got to have it upstairs as well, because, mentally, this game is won upstairs a lot of the time because everyone is talented.”

In Georgia’s bowl victory against TCU, Eason’s hesitation with the mental aspect of the game was on display. At various moments in the win, he was late on a throw because he watched the receiver come open instead of trusting the scheme and throwing his teammate open.

It is commonly said that football is a game of inches, but for a quarterback, it can be a game of split seconds. One second too late on a throw, and the window might no longer be open.

“There were times when I thought he tried to force balls,” Shockley said. “I think there are going to be a lot of chances for him to begin to trust his receivers and anticipate throws more than he did this year. He relied on his strong arm and waited to see things come open.”

Of course, the blame can’t be laid entirely at Eason’s arm. A quarterback must have absolute trust in his receivers to get to their spot at the right time, and it appeared that trust wasn’t fully there in Eason’s first season.

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The Bulldogs are prioritizing the receiver position for this year’s recruiting class, and there will be a nice influx of talent on the way. Three 4-star receivers, each listed at 6-2, are part of the class. It’s up to Eason, however, to work with the new guys to develop that chemistry.

Shockley believes finding time away from practice is the right way to build that relationship. Away from the demands of practice, Eason and his receivers can talk through routes and learn each other’s tendencies that will factor into games on Saturdays.

Eason is entering an important stage of his development, but he doesn’t have a problem that is impossible to fix.

“I think the mistakes are things that he can definitely work on,” Shockley said. “(He was) tentative in the pocket and that his sometimes not understanding that quarterback clock is going off in his head and he’s got to get rid of the football. He’s holding onto the football a little bit longer than he should be, and that goes all the way back to not being comfortable with the play or not being comfortable with what he’s seeing from the defense.”

There will be a lot of expectations for Eason and Kirby Smart in Year 2. With a lot of talent returning, the Bulldogs are expected to be the de-facto frontrunners for the SEC East.

Shockley believes Georgia’s defense should keep the Bulldogs in nearly every game next season. The biggest question marks will be an offensive line that must replace three starters and a second-year quarterback looking to take the next step forward.

Eason showed flashes of his incredible potential, but this offseason is his chance to make those “wow” moments become more regular.

Shockley believes Eason’s experience from his freshman year can help that happen.

“I definitely feel as though the upside outweighs anything else, and we’ll probably see more of those upside moments than mistakes coming in the next year because he’ll be more comfortable,” he said.

By focusing on the little things during the offseason, big things could be on the horizon for Eason. If he develops a better understanding of the playbook and greater consistency, Eason could have Georgia thinking bigger than just an SEC East title.

William McFadden covers the University of Georgia for Saturday Down South. For news on everything happening between the hedges, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.