When Jacob Eason looks back at the two-plus years he spent at Georgia, he does so with absolutely zero regrets.
“Georgia was a great place for me. It wasn’t that it was the wrong place. I’m super glad I took the chance to go down there and [have] the opportunity,” Eason said Monday during media time at the NFL Combine. “I had a tremendous two and a half years and met a lot of great people, a lot of great coaches, and really immersed myself in that culture; some things I’ll never forget. I wouldn’t take it back if I could."
Eason’s story is a familiar one to Bulldog fans.
After starting as a freshman during Kirby Smart’s first season in 2016, Eason hoped to build off his initial campaign with a strong start in the opener against Appalachian State. That is, until an ankle injury early in the contest forced him to the sideline. It would be the last start in his Bulldog career.
Not only was Jake Fromm a freshman, but the Bulldogs had just signed another five-star quarterback in Justin Fields. Eason said he could see the writing on the proverbial wall.
“I had a great two years down there and ultimately transferred home. But that’s the thing about being a quarterback, you can only play one on the field at a time. There isn’t an opportunity to play three or four like a receiver or a running back. So in terms of my own personal career, the best decision for me was to go elsewhere and try to compete elsewhere.”
Eason admitted losing his job was initially a hit to his pride.
As one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects, Eason envisioned starting every game of his Bulldog career. So when that didn’t happen, it initially came as a jolt.
“It was tough. From a competitive standpoint, you always want to be the guy who’s out there leading the troops. Especially for me, I was a starter 11 or 12 games my freshman year, then had an unfortunate injury. From a competitive side, it was really tough,” Eason said. “I had to adapt to that, but as a team player and as a person, it felt like the right thing to do was support Jake (Fromm) and support that team. It was a tremendous team, tremendously talented, and we went on a run that year. I didn’t want to make the narrative anything about me. I wanted to make sure the focus was on the team wherever we were going, then after that we were going to make my decision.”
After Eason sat out his first year at Washington due to NCAA transfer rules, he took over the starting role last fall and put up some impressive numbers, completing 260 of 405 passes for 3,132 yards and 23 touchdowns, with just eight interceptions.
His freshman season at Georgia, Eason completed 204 of 307 passes for 2,430 yards and 16 touchdowns, with eight picks. He only attempted seven passes his sophomore season, completing four for 28.
Eason did admit the initial adjustment to Georgia’s pro-style offense, compared to the no-huddle spread he ran in high school was difficult at first.
“I think early on in my career, going down from a high school that was a West Coast, no-huddle spread offense to a pro-style offense at Georgia as an 18-year old; learning on the fly there, and then ultimately coming to Washington—which was pro style with a little bit of spread mixed in there,” Eason said. “Two different offenses, two different coordinators, two different head coaches. As I matured and grew older in this profession, it all kind of came together, and I was able to learn a lot more a lot faster.’’
Now, as he prepares to impress scouts during this week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis, he does so grateful for the experience and how it’s helped put him in the position he's in today.
“The biggest thing I took away from that was playing in the SEC as an 18-year-old freshman. There was a lot going on, it was a lot to handle. Getting that exposure early was huge. It allowed me to take it in and learn from it, then progress through my career,” Eason said. “Granted, I got hurt my sophomore year and didn’t play until my redshirt year. But the experience of that whole situation was something that has kind of molded me into who I am now.”
