Bulldogs undecided on starting quarterback

Terry Godwin was sitting in class when a fellow student leaned in to ask him a question.

“Who’s going to start at quarterback?” the student asked.

Godwin had never talked to his classmate before. The classmate, however, clearly recognized Godwin. But being a high-profile member of Georgia’s football team has brought a ton of quarterback questions his way.

Even family members have asked Godwin for the answer. And whether it’s a relative, a fellow student he just met for the first time or a reporter with a camera, Godwin has answered the question the same way.

“I was talking to (the classmate) like I’m talking to y’all,” Godwin said. “I don’t know myself.”

Freshman Jacob Eason took the most first-team reps in practice during the past couple of weeks and teammates, according to a source familiar with the situation, were beginning to believe he would be Georgia’s starter against the Tar Heels following Saturday’s practice at the Georgia Dome.

But during Monday’s practice, senior Greyson Lambert was the first quarterback to run with the first-team offense, which has all of a sudden clouded the direction this competition was thought to be headed in.

Prior to practice, head coach Kirby Smart said no final decision has been reached yet.

“No starter has been named,” Smart said. “We’ll continue to practice guys and get those guys ready, and when it does, we’ll let you guys know.”

Eason is a true freshman quarterback from Lake Stevens, Washington, and earned five-star status as a recruit. This accompanied a Gatorade National Player of the Year award that went along with countless accolades. Eason also stuck by his commitment to Georgia even after Mark Richt, the head coach Eason initially pledged to, was fired after Georgia’s regular-season finale against Georgia Tech.

Lambert, who arrived at Georgia as a graduate transfer after a three-year stint at Virginia, started 12 games a year ago and compiled a 10-2 record. He threw for 1,959 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Eason and Lambert are the top two quarterbacks remaining in the competition, with junior Brice Ramsey falling back to third string.

“It’s less about what Brice did and more about what Jacob and Greyson did,” Smart said. “Both of those guys have done a really good job, and to be honest with you, Brice did, too, but we can’t get three guys ready.”

If Eason wins the job, he’ll be the first true freshman to start a game for Georgia since 2006, when Matthew Stafford earned his first career start in the third week of the season against UAB. Eason would also be the first true freshman quarterback since Quincy Carter in 1998 to start a season opener for the Bulldogs.

Smart said Eason has improved during the preseason, especially with Georgia in the midst of preparing for North Carolina.

“He’s done a good job,” Smart said. “We’ve gotten a little more into game-planning, so he’s done a good job managing those, and we’ll make a decision based on the next couple of practices.”

The chance Georgia plays multiple quarterbacks still exists, too.

If Georgia goes with Lambert, Eason will certainly get playing time. If Eason starts but struggles, Lambert could be brought off the bench in relief.

“We’re going to see how it goes,” Smart said. “First thing we have to do is figure out who’s taking the first snap before we worry about the next guy coming in. I think it’ll reveal itself the next couple of days. Continue getting those guys reps and get both of them ready to play — that’s the plan.”

If Georgia goes with two quarterbacks it wouldn’t be anything new for the returning players. The Bulldogs did this a year ago, with Ramsey getting some playing time in games Lambert started.

Godwin went through that and said it’s not that difficult of an adjustment during a game.

“It’s not much of a change because in practice we’re always rotating all three of them in and out,” Godwin said. “Everyone has chemistry with all three of them. If (Smart) does play two or three, we’re still going to click on all cylinders.”

While the quarterback question continues to linger, it’s not something that appears to concern Georgia’s players too much. Godwin brought up that it’s rarely a topic in the locker room.

Soon enough, Georgia will choose a starter between Eason and Lambert. From there, attention will turn to producing points and winning games.

And center Brandon Kublanow said going through the 2015 quarterback battle helped prepare him for what’s transpired this preseason.

“Whoever it is, that’s who it is,” Kublanow said.

This story was originally published August 29, 2016 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Bulldogs undecided on starting quarterback."