It's no secret that the most important position on the football field is quarterback.
As we've learned over the last few years, if you're going to beat Alabama, you'd better have a top-notch quarterback. Average or just OK doesn't cut it around Nick Saban and his band of defensive goons. You need someone who can pelt the skies with raindrops and occasionally use his feet to get out of sticky situations.
In a year in which there will be a presumed talent increase in the SEC, one young QB could stand above the rest as the the biggest threat to Alabama's conference dominance.
He's not the most fleet-footed QB, but Eason has one of the nation's most magical right arms. While he had his fair share of bumps, bruises and blunders during his freshman season at Georgia, there's no question that his superstar potential is through the roof. With more reps and game study, Eason could turn into a bona fide maestro with the pigskin and shake Alabama's stranglehold over the conference to its very core by taking back Atlanta for the SEC East.
“He has the arm strength to make all the throws you’re going to ask him to do in any offense," one SEC defensive coordinator told ESPN.
During a freshman year surrounded by insane hype and ridiculous expectations, Eason started 12 games and threw for 2,430 yards (fourth-most by a Georgia freshman), with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He chucked a Hail Mary touchdown that almost beat Tennessee, and he led game-winning drives on the road against Missouri and Kentucky.
He wasn't perfect, but he wasn't a slouch. When it came to pure arm talent, Eason could sling it with the best of them. While he completed less than 50 percent of his passes on the road and at neutral sites, he threw nine of his touchdown passes and just three of his interceptions away from Athens. He also threw for two touchdowns in Georgia's bowl win over TCU.
At a school with a new head coach, new offensive coordinator, an unpredictable offensive line and few game-breaking receiving targets, Eason managed a decent first year after being the nation's No. 1 high school quarterback, the 2015-16 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year, the Maxwell Football Club National High School Player of the Year, the 2016 Bobby Dodd National Back of the Year, the 2015 USA Today All-USA Offensive Player of the Year and a high school All-American by just about everyone.
“I don’t know what everybody else has seen, but what I saw was a guy who can make all the throws, who just needed some seasoning and some forgiveness in a conference that’s really unforgiving," Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason said.
Mason, who watched Eason throw for a career-high 346 yards against his defense, thinks Eason will have more mastery over the offense this season, and believes offensive coordinator Jim Chaney will play to his strengths, which include letting his passes rip down the field.
When it comes to Alabama, the pro-style Eason can learn from past QBs who used their legs sparingly.
Most recently, Deshaun Watson had a modest 43 yards and a touchdown rushing in Clemson's 35-31 upset of the Crimson Tide in the national championship game in January, but he carved up that defense with 420 passing yards and three touchdowns. In five of Alabama's last six losses, opposing quarterbacks have thrown for 250-plus yards, with the last three shooting past 340. During that stretch, only Auburn's Nick Marshall crossed the 50-yard rushing mark (99).
Eason has the arm to succeed, but his head must follow.
When it came to reading defenses, Eason was stuck in elementary mode at times. As one SEC defensive coordinator pointed out, Eason struggled with his pre-snap indicators and understanding where he should go with the football when he was unsure of what the defense showed him. That left Eason making post-snap reads while going through his progressions, setting his feet and watching the defense change in front of him. That slowed his reaction time and resulted in him staring down rushers instead of finding windows to throw to.
An SEC defensive coordinator who faced Eason said in-game planning was made easier against Eason by having defensive disguises to confuse him.
That didn't stunt his and Georgia's offensive growth last year, but opposing coaches acknowledged that experience did Eason a wealth of good. He was always going to take his lumps, but learning from them and improving on them is what will take his game to the next level.
The other thing that will help is competition for playing time. Eason had none after taking Greyson Lambert's job after Week 1, and Eason was lax at times.
With the presence of talented early enrollee Jake Fromm, who head coach Kirby Smart is already showering with praise, the pressure is on Eason.
“I expect [Fromm] to come out and compete like he’s trying to win it,” Smart said last week on Georgia's "Bulldogs Live" radio show. “I look at him no different than I did with Jacob Eason this time last year.
“He’s got a little leadership to him that he’s not afraid to jump out there and tell guys where to line up, what to do, and get after it with a little fire. I think that dynamic, Jacob sees that, and Jacob’s sitting there watching this young kid that comes in with a little more fire and brimstone than even he had."
Physically, Eason has what it takes to be the next great thing in the SEC. He might not have been the instant messiah whom Georgia fans were hoping for, but just like Eason, they too need time and patience before greatness can unfold.
“I truly think his best football is in front of him," Mason said.