UGA legend Fran Tarkenton thinks he knows who will start at quarterback
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Legendary Georgia quarterback thinks Jacob Eason has what it takes to lead the Bulldogs in 2016.
“I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t start against North Carolina – from what I hear about him,” Tarkenton said when speaking to DawgNation.com’s Seth Emerson. “Now, I’ve never met him, I’ve never seen him play, so I’m not a good judge. Except I have a little knowledge of the makeups of quarterbacks.”
A “little knowledge” is quite the understatement on Tarkenton’s part. The former Bulldog (1958-’60) is a Hall of Fame inductee and nine-time Pro Bowl honoree, sixth all time in the NFL in passing touchdowns (342) and eighth in passing yards (47,003). When he speaks on quarterbacks, people listen.
Some coaches and observers believe quarterbacks will be overwhelmed if they’re asked to take snaps as true freshmen. Tarkenton rejects that wholeheartedly.
“When the lights go on and the people start playing real ball, do you (expletive) in your pants or do you come alive?” Tarkenton said. “You’re a performer. You’re on Broadway. You think those Broadway great talents, (they say) ‘let’s hold them around for three years?’ They know the second they step on the stage whether they’ve got stage fright or not.”
Tarkenton disagreed with any notion that Eason, a five-star early enrollee, only impressed in the spring game (19-of-29, 244 yards, TD) because he played against Georgia’s second-team defense.
“If you can play, you show it against the second-team defense or the first-team defense,” Tarkenton said. “You’ve gotta make a throw. You’ve gotta make a read. And he evidently made throws. He was accurate, and at the end of the day I’m not so impressed with whether he’s got a big arm or doesn’t have a big arm. I’m more impressed with whether he’s got accuracy. No quarterback has ever been a great quarterback without accuracy.”
Georgia opens its season on Sept. 3 against North Carolina at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Emerson’s full feature on Tarkenton can be read here.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
