Murray, now a CBS Sports analyst, offers preseason take on Georgia
Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray has a new gig analyzing college football for the CBS Sports Network. While Murray mostly will commentate on games featuring teams from Group of 5 conferences, he did appear on some preseason segments to talk about his alma mater.
On the show “Inside College Football,” Murray was asked about the biggest areas of improvement needed for Georgia.
Like almost everyone else, Murray’s first thought centered on the play of Georgia’s offensive line.
“I think the biggest thing right now for Georgia is the offensive line,” Murray said. “Can they find guys to be able to run the ball between the tackles? Can they find guys to use the play-action pass to give Jacob Eason some time to throw the ball? I think that was the toughest thing for them last year. They had great running backs they had some good receivers on the outside.”
Former @FootballUGA QB @aaronmurray11 talks about his expectations for the Bulldogs this year. pic.twitter.com/lft0kNQPj6
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) August 21, 2017
The line’s biggest issue a year ago was finding space for running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Chubb, in particular, averaged 5 yards per carry after averaging 7.1 yards as a freshman and 8.1 yards as a sophomore.
Murray is also interested in seeing how quarterback Jacob Eason has developed now that he is entering his sophomore season.
That’s the time when Murray said the greatest growth can occur in a college quarterback. Given that Eason played high school football in the state of Washington, the level of play in the SEC was quite a bit higher, which could have led to many of his first-year adjustments.
“I think for him, he kind of understood this is some big-time football with some big-time defenses,” Murray said. “I’m looking for him to take that next step in year two, not only with the leadership of this team but with his accuracy, his command of the offense.”
With Chubb and Michel back for their senior seasons, however, Murray thinks there won’t be much pressure placed upon Eason just yet.
“I don’t think there is going to be a lot to ask from him,” Murray said. “They’re going to rely heavily on the run game and pound the ball and be able to use play-action. If that offensive line can give him some time to sit back there and use what he has — he has a strong arm, he can throw the ball all over the park.”
.@aaronmurray11 looks for @FootballUGA QB Jacob Eason to take a step forward in his sophomore season. pic.twitter.com/U19ZKRCd9k
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) August 23, 2017
As a freshman, Eason threw for 2,430 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He completed 55.1 percent of his passes. To improve that completion percentage, Murray said Eason needs to get even more so on the same page with his wideouts.
“He just needs to make sure, this offseason, right now in camp, heading into this first game, that he’s really diving into the playbook, that he’s a master of the playbook and working on the timing with his receivers,” Murray said.
As for the other side of the football, Murray likes what he sees on a Georgia defense that is returning 10 starters.
Up front, Georgia brought its entire front seven back, which has Murray excited about the defense’s potential.
“I’m looking for big things from them this year,” Murray said. “It starts in the trenches. The big guys up front have to do their job.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Murray, now a CBS Sports analyst, offers preseason take on Georgia."