It was the summer before Jacob Eason’s freshman high school season.
Tom Tri just learned days before a 7-on-7 tournament that his starting quarterback pulled out to go with his baseball travel team to Los Angeles. So the Lake Stevens coach huddled with his quarterbacks coach.
“We were determining whether we should cancel the tournament or just bring Jacob up,” Tri said. “In my mind, it was a no brainer. Let’s get a chance to let this young kid play. We brought him up and weren’t expecting anything overly impressive and at the same time we go 3-0 in pool play in round robin play and put up a quite a few points with a quarterback that really barely understood our offense and barely knew the names of the receivers he was throwing too and didn’t even go to our school.”
The team made it to the tournament finals, losing 49-42.
That “young kid” from Washington state is now an 18-year old early enrollee at Georgia.
He arrived in Athens two months ago with big attention as a five-star recruit and an opportunity to make a run at a starting job for a team that had a lackluster passing attack last season.
Eason, just like in high school, will be working in a new offense with new receivers when Georgia opens spring practices Tuesday.
Eason’s mindset is pretty straightforward: “It’s just going to be to learn and do the best I can with what coach has given me and learn from the guys here. Work hard, obviously and just do the best I can.”
He is aiming for the starting job but it won’t just be handed to him. He’ll have to beat out senior Greyson Lambert, who won the starting job at Virginia in 2014 and Georgia in 2015, but also was unseated after spring ball in Charlottesville and before the Florida game last season before regaining his spot.
And there’s also redshirt junior Brice Ramsey, who was considered the favorite for the starting job last offseason.
All get a fresh start under new coach Kirby Smart and new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.
“We don't want him coming in thinking that he’s got to come in here and win this job, because there are some other guys here, too, that played some football last year,” Smart said of Eason. “We’ve got to find what the best remedy for our offense is and that will be very important in spring practice.”
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Eason fits what Chaney is looking for in his system, according to Tom Luginbill, director of scouting for ESPN, which ranked Eason the nation’s No. 1 quarterback.
“Certainly he’s very physically gifted and not only is he physically gifted but he is the type of player that Jim Chaney wants under center,” Luginbill said. “Jim Chaney is a multiple, pro-style NFL mindset, win with aptitude and anticipation in your mind and you’re going to do it by being technically sound, you’re going to throw the football from within the pocket and work through progressions and all those sorts of things. So Jacob fits that mold.”
Eason wasn’t sure what realistic expectations for him should be but isn’t worried about pressure on him.
“I’m surrounded by great people so that pressure’s going to kind of flood on to everyone,” Eason said. “Everyone’s going to take a deeper role in doing their part. …Once it all comes together, it will all work out.”
Eason spoke to the media on signing day on Feb. 3 and given the spotlight on him and his first-year status, he may not be heard from anytime soon.
Not that he isn’t already used to being the center of attention.
“We had a photographer on our sidelines every Friday night (shooting) just about everything that Jacob did,” Tri said. “Literally, the guy was in Jacob’s face from the time we kicked off to 15 or 20 minutes after game time when he was finally done taking pictures with youngsters and friends and families and everyone else on the field…So he’s been through some distractions.”
One of Lake Stevens’ game was nationally televised on ESPNU and the broadcast was focused on Eason, who threw five touchdowns in a 63-7 win over Kamiak. Then Georgia offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer made the cross-country trip and watched from the field level.
Eason threw for 3,585 yards and 43 touchdowns and six interceptions as a senior while operating out of an offense that relied on four- and five-receiver shotgun sets and sometimes empty backfields.
“He hasn’t been under center very much,” Tri said. “I don’t know if it’s a weakness; it’s just a lack of experience and that’s more my fault as a head coach and offensive coordinator of not providing him enough opportunities to be under center to make that transition.”
Tri said Eason did a good job in practice when Tri was on the coaching staff at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio and that Eason also played scout team quarterback in practice under center against the varsity defense.
“He’s going to have some footwork to work out the 3-step, 5-step, 7-step drops, some of the play-action stuff,” Tri said. “It’s going to require him to get the reps in and put the work in. He has the type of character and ability to, I think, make that transition and I think do it really smoothly. Now can he do it in a year? That might be a huge expectation. He certainly has the tools and wants it so I’m looking forward to watching him grow and have those opportunities.”
