Georgia's Jacob Eason on managing expectations while competing for starting job
ATHENS -- Jacob Eason knows what's expected of him. It comes with the territory with being one of the nation's top quarterback recruits, especially considering he'll be playing for an SEC program in need of improved play at the position.
Eason made no question about his thoughts on the subject. He wants to play. As an early enrollee, Eason will have a full offseason and spring football game to compete for the starting job against veterans Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey.
Eason piled up plenty of high school accolades, including Gatorade National Player of the Year, Maxwell Club Player of the Year and the Bobby Dodd Back of the Year. But as great as he was in high school, Eason knows the challenges of the college game will hit him fast.
Even so, the task at hand is to play as a freshman and compete with those gunning for the same position.
"That's everybody's goal. That would be my goal," Eason said. "But obviously, Greyson and Brice and all of the other guys here are great quarterbacks too in their own respective games. I want to learn from them. I want to learn from all the coaches and buy in to the system. Whatever happens will happen and I'll be excited."
The hype surrounding Eason has been at a fever pitch for some time. Yet it's not like this is the first time Georgia has signed a high-profile quarterback, considering five-star multi-year starters Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray came through the program during the past decade.
But Murray has now been gone from Georgia for two seasons, and the passing attacks haven't been what Georgia is accustomed to seeing. In 2015, Lambert threw for less than 2,000 yards in 12 starts.
There's a clear need for a quarterback -- whether it's Eason, Lambert or Ramsey -- to give the offense the shot in the arm it needs.
Freshman tight end Isaac Nauta, who enrolled early and is one of Eason's roommates, said he believes the Lake Stevens, Washington, native has everything a college coach wants in the quarterback.
It's the cerebral approach to the game that Eason has to master before getting that chance at leading Georgia's offense.
"Obviously, everyone is untested right now, especially the freshmen as far as playing in the SEC and just being around guys that have been playing already," Nauta said. "I think he has all the physical attributes to be a really great quarterback. I think really, with all of us, it's the mental side of it. In college, the defenses are so complex. You can throw a pick very easily by reading one thing wrong. Mentally, if he grasps it I think he has a chance to be really, really good."
Freshman defensive lineman Julian Rochester seemed to understand what it meant for Georgia to only land Eason and to keep him through the coaching change from Mark Richt to Kirby Smart.
By doing so, the Bulldogs kept other integral pieces to their recruiting class while attracting others.
"Jacob was real important for the offense," Rochester said. "That's what I feel like Tyler Simmons stayed, why Mecole (Hardman) wanted to come, too. We need a gunslinger. We need a dude who can sit in the pocket and deliver balls."
Eason has been on campus for less than a month and has been treated like a rock star when spotted in public. Nauta said Eason is regularly stopped to take photos and draws a ton of attention when they're out.
That can be a surreal feeling for a freshman quarterback who was leading his high school team in the state playoffs only a couple of months ago.
Eason, however, knows what he signed up for.
"As a young kid you want to live up and be the great quarterback," Eason said. "That's a long shot. I'm going to be the guy who comes in and works my hardest to fulfill my potential. The expectations are great, and people have high hopes for me. I'm going to do the best I can to fulfill them. A lot of hard work from here."
A lot of hype came Eason's way before he ever stepped foot on campus as an enrolled student. From the outside it may seem Eason has a lot to live up to. But Smart said he's doing his part to keep his quarterback from feeling those external pressures.
"There's no pressure on him, no expectations on him," Smart said. "He's a kid coming out of high school for mid-year (enrollment). He's going to have 15 practices, he's going to have 27, 28 practices in the fall to get him ready and prepare him. We've got to put him in good situations and we've got to be able to run the ball if he's the guy.
"We don't want him coming in and thinking he's got to win the job. There's some other guys here too that played some football last year. We've got to find what the best remedy for our offense is. That'll be very important in spring practice. To say that it all falls on Jacob, I don't think that's the case. I would rather take that burden myself."
This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Georgia's Jacob Eason on managing expectations while competing for starting job."