Chaney dishes on Eason
LOS ANGELES – Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney explained Thursday why Jacob Eason didn’t regain his starting job from Jake Fromm after going out with a knee injury in the opener against Appalachian State.
His reason was actually quite simple.
“We went up and beat Notre Dame, came back and won another ballgame and you could see us starting to click and the ball starting to move down the field,” Chaney said. “It was a good formula at that time. We never predetermined anything. But you couldn’t make that change until we got Jacob healthy and back because it wouldn’t have been the right thing at the time.”
Even when healthy, the Bulldogs had little choice to keep rolling with the hot hand.
Wins over Mississippi State, Tennessee, Missouri and Florida followed, as did an easy victory over South Carolina before the Bulldogs suffered their only loss of the year at Auburn, a defeat they would later avenge in the SEC Championship with Fromm at the helm.
“It’s always performance-based,” Chaney said. “As y’all know, he went out on the field and performed at a really high level. So, when you’re doing that at that spot and you’re moving the field, it’s hard to make a change at that spot.”
Contrary to initial Internet rumors, Eason has and continues to handle the situation well.
“Jacob, man, he’s been incredible,” Fromm said. “He’s been an awesome teammate. I couldn’t ask for anything better from him. He’s been with me every step of the way, and we’ve been great friends throughout this, and man, he’s just awesome.”
So, what does the future hold?
Speculation is that with the arrival of early enrollee Justin Fields that Eason will seek a transfer. But will he?
Eason claimed after the SEC Championship that he’s only focused on Georgia’s season. Chaney said the quarterback has not broached the subject with him.
“We have not spoke about that,” Chaney said. “Jacob has handled this situation as good as any human being could ever handle it. I mean, it’s been hard on him. I know it has been difficult. He’s a wonderful young man, but that’s all I’d really like to talk about with that because he’s such a great kid and it ain’t about him; it’s about our football team.”
Should Eason return, Chaney indicated the Washington native would have every opportunity to win back his old job.
"It's the same old stuff. We get in the off-season and it's all back to who is going to win the spot," Chaney said. "That's the way Kirby makes it and that's the way it should be. We want to have as much competition as we possibly can and may the best player win the job. We have no preconceived nothing."