Georgia OC Jim Chaney explains why Jacob Eason never regained his starting job
When Georgia QB Jacob Eason went down in Week 1 with a knee injury, the Bulldogs were forced to turn to true freshman Jake Fromm.
What has Fromm done? Only lead the Bulldogs to the College Football Playoff, keeping Eason firmly on the bench.
That has been tough on Eason, who is only a sophomore, but offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said the former 5-star player has handled it well. However, Chaney explained, based on the results the team had with Fromm, there was no way they could make a switch back to Eason (via Rivals.com):
“We went up and beat Notre Dame, came back and won another ballgame and you could see us starting to click and the ball starting to move down the field,” Chaney said. “It was a good formula at that time. We never predetermined anything. But you couldn’t make that change until we got Jacob healthy and back because it wouldn’t have been the right thing at the time.”
Chaney said Eason has yet to discuss his future plans with him, but said if Eason does return to Athens next year, he’ll have a chance to compete for the starting job again.
That’s because Chaney said coach Kirby Smart wants every position to be open for competition every year:
“It’s the same old stuff. We get in the off-season and it’s all back to who is going to win the spot,” Chaney said. “That’s the way Kirby makes it and that’s the way it should be. We want to have as much competition as we possibly can and may the best player win the job. We have no preconceived nothing.”
With dual-threat QB Justin Fields, the No. 2 overall player in the 2018 class, coming into Athens next year, too, it could be a crowded quarterback room for the Bulldogs.
