Eason remains the favorite for starting QB job

Georgia hasn't come out and named a starting quarterback yet. But following Saturday's final preseason practice, freshman Jacob Eason remains the favorite to win the job.

Even Eason's teammates, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, believe that the Lake Stevens, Washington, native will be the quarterback the coaching staff chooses to start against North Carolina. This has to do with how many reps Eason has received in practice during the past two weeks, which included working primarily with the first team since game-planning for the Tar Heels got underway.

But at this time, it's not concrete and the situation remains fluid. While there are players who believe Eason will be the starter, none of the coaches have made any kind of declaration to the team yet.

With players taking Sunday off, the coaches have had plenty of time to discuss what to do at quarterback.

It's unknown whether Georgia will announce a starting quarterback during the week or go into the North Carolina game without saying anything on the subject. The earlier a starter is named, the more reps he can get with the first team and the easier it is for the teammates to rally behind. But by naming a starter, it gives North Carolina the information of knowing exactly who to game-plan against, even though there wouldn’t be any game film on Eason, outside of his performance at G-Day, as a college quarterback.

While Eason is the favorite, the chance still exists that Georgia could go with Greyson Lambert, especially if Eason's practice in the next four days doesn't go as expected.

Eason's recent rise marks a change among the coaching staff from just two weeks ago when it didn’t seem he would be ready to lead Georgia’s offense by the season opener. But with Eason inching closer to possibly earning his first-ever start Saturday, the coaches clearly feel comfortable in a game plan that will put him in the best position to succeed.

Regardless if Eason starts the North Carolina game, the goal has long been to get him involved in games and to eventually have him become the No. 1 quarterback.

Now, Eason's positioned himself to be Georgia's first true freshman to start a game since 2006 (Matthew Stafford in Week 3 vs. UAB) and a season opener since 1998 (Quincy Carter vs. Kent State).

This story was originally published August 28, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Eason remains the favorite for starting QB job."