Georgia is ready for the Jacob Eason era to begin.

Never mind the fact the 5-start senior QB still hopes to throw a few more touchdown passes as he chases a state title in Washington. His Lake Stevens team is in the 4A state quarterfinals Saturday.

Eason, who officially signed with the Bulldogs on Friday, might have the loftiest expectations of any recruit in the 2016 class.

The way he’s playing, coupled with the fact that Georgia ranks ninth in the SEC with just 11 passing TDs through 10 games, can you really blame Georgia fans — or its head coach — for getting excited about next season?

Some of them are taking road trips to watch Eason play.

Mark Richt flew cross-country to surprise Eason on Sunday morning.

“He didn’t know I was going to be there, so that was kind of fun,” Richt told reporters.

Star RB Nick Chubb will be back next season, the defense will have another full season under coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, and Eason will be ready between the hedges, either eagerly waiting on the sidelines, or taking snaps behind center. The only question is whether  Eason will start Day One.

In his most recent game, Eason threw for 283 yards and 3 TDs as his team improved to 11-0.

Still, the Georgia fanbase might want to ease up on Eason until he puts on a Bulldog uniform, at least according to seniors on the team.

“I wish him all the success in the world. I hope he’s the next best thing,” senior OT John Theus told reporters earlier this week.

“But if he struggles as a freshman … remember he’s a freshman. Who knows what’ll happen, who knows if he comes in and starts, who knows if he doesn’t. It’s college football, it’s a complete other level,” Theus said. “So to put that amount of pressure on a kid that early it’s not fair, but it’s part of it, we realize it. Don’t cut him down to begin with.”

Georgia’s quarterbacks have struggled so much you can’t blame fans for looking ahead to a brighter future, especially when it contains the No. 2 QB recruit in the nation.

In fact, he senior out of Lake Stevens just got named as one of 15 semifinalists for the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award.

Previous winners include Chris Leak (2003), Jimmy Clausen (2007), Terrelle Pryor (2008), and Dorial Green-Beckham (2012).

Even Richt, surrounded by drama about his job status, is tying his future to the star quarterback.

“We just had a good visit, just kinda hung out together,” Richt told DawgNation this week. “The message was just enjoying each other’s company. … The only expectation that Jacob has is to come in and learn what to do and try to help the team win any way he can.”

For the coach to make a surprise visit in the middle of the season shows how committed Georgia is to its future quarterback.