For those of you that are ready to anoint Georgia’s five-star signee, Jacob Eason, as the immediate starter at quarterback for the Bulldogs, it may be time to ‘slow your roll’ just a bit.
Eason was running with the third-string offense for a good portion of Saturday’s spring scrimmage in Athens.
New coach Kirby Smart isn’t ready to hand over the keys to the youngster, which means the rest of us should be patient as well.
According to a report from The Macon Telegraph, it was returning quarterbacks Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey that spent time working with the first-team offense, with each reportedly getting 50 percent of the snaps with the top group.
“Both kind of did (as) expected,” Smart said. “I want Brice to manage the huddle a little better, be more efficient, get the call out, get to the line faster. I think Greyson’s doing a nice job of managing the huddle right now, the call and executing the play. He’s got to be a little more mobile in the pocket; he’s got to be able to create a little bit more and get out of there and make some throws.”
Before we start going down the road of rehashing the disappointment of last season’s passing game, to which both Lambert and Ramsey contributed, let’s remember that it’s still the early moments of this process for Eason.
After all, he only arrived on campus in January.
The Macon Telegraph’s report also quoted Smart on Eason’s performance, which was said to be uneven with nerves in the beginning followed by some more confident throws.
“Sometimes, arm talent can get you in trouble if you make poor decisions,” Smart said. “We’re trying to make sure he’s doing the right progression, doing the right check and throwing the ball to the right place. He’s had several times that he threw it to the wrong place, but he made a hell of a play.
“You don’t want to take that out of the guy, you don’t want to over-coach the guy, and I think (offensive coordinator Jim) Chaney does a great job. I sit in some of those meeting and he tells him that, ‘Hey look, this is not really where you’re supposed to do it, but you did a great job.’ So as he earns that, he’ll get a chance, hopefully, to move up and get a chance with the ones.”
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
