Jake Fromm deserved all the accolades thrown his way last season, as the true freshman stepped up when called upon and delivered one of the most remarkable campaigns a true freshman quarterback has ever delivered in the SEC.

While that’s true, it’s also true that Jacob Eason deserves a ton of credit for handling the situation the right way and supporting his younger teammate. Things could have easily gone differently, especially in today’s world of college football, where quarterbacks are seemingly ready to transfer at any moment for just about any slight.

Of course, Eason has announced he will leave the program but he waited until the conclusion of the season and did so in a respectful manner. According to what his head coach has to say about him, that’s no surprise.

That’s something Kirby Smart recognizes and went out of his way to praise the sophomore quarterback for recently during an appearance on 680 the Fan’s The Official Visit. According to Kipp Adams of 247Sports, Smart sees Eason as all class:

“First thing you say is first class. The kid handled his recruitment the right way. The entire time, he had a lot of pressure and accolades his freshman year. He handled everything the right way and kept his chin up,” Smart said on the program

While Eason did not have a stellar true freshman campaign, Smart is disappointed few got to see the improvements the young QB made in 2017. Following his season-opening injury, Eason only saw mop-up duty the rest of the year.

“I really thought it was sad that no one got to see the growth he made from year one to year two,” Smart said. “We never got to really see that, other than a series against App State.”

Smart also gives Eason credit for not causing any distractions during the team’s epic run to the National Championship Game. Even if Eason had already made the decision to transfer from Athens, he did not let that become known until after the season.

“He knows,” Smart said. “He is a competitor. He saw the way the team was playing, he saw what was going on. He never said a foul word, He was the first one to support Jake Fromm, he helped a lot of other guys on the team through their freshmen year.”

If Eason does indeed transfer to Washington, as some have reported, don’t be surprised to see him have a ton of success for Chris Petersen in the Pac-12. The maturity and leadership he displayed in 2017 may not have been noticed by many outside of Athens but it’s hard to argue that any QB put in that tough position could have handled it any better.