Man, I’m not sure anyone has described the expectations for Jacob Eason tomorrow like Stewart Mandel does here.
No other spring game in the country this year will garner the same level of buildup as Georgia’s annual G-Day on Saturday. First-year head coach Kirby Smart has been pushing for months to get 93,000 fans to fill Sanford Stadium. The school created a #93KDAY campaign. It even booked Ludacris this week as a pregame entertainer.
With all due respect to the aforementioned Grammy winner, those 93,000 will be coming primarily to see another person.
Jacob Eason, the consensus No. 1 quarterback recruit in the class of 2016 who committed to Georgia prior to his junior year of high school, makes his long-awaited public debut. His arrival comes none too soon for a fan base that suffered through the nation’s 104th-ranked passing offense last season.
Well, dayum.
Here’s my first question for you: if Eason comes out of tomorrow looking competitive – not necessarily better than Lambert or Ramsey, but definitely no worse than on even footing with them – should that be enough for Chaney and Smart to declare him the winner of this spring’s quarterback competition? After all, I think we had our fill last year of seeing what happens when you don’t name a starting quarterback until mid-August.
And my second flows from that: how good are you going to feel about Georgia’s passing game in 2016 if the coaches don’t name a starter after G-Day?
Get The Picture 
They aren’t going to name a starter after G-Day
I’ll feel the same as I do every year. Richt never ended a QB competition before fall camp and Saban typically let’s it spill into the first game or so. This is nothing we aren’t already used to seeing.
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I guess it depends on how you define a QB competition.
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No incumbent
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See article above about player mindset.
Kirby’s starter is going to have to be a leader on that front. And I am betting he sends his QBs into summer prep knowing they are being judged more by their approach to preparation than A-Day results.
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If we take Kirby at his word, the only way we are going to get a qb that throws the ball down the field is if there are players performing at a high level in position to catch the throws. Therefore, Kirby won’t put the gifted arm behind center until it is deemed “it gives us the best chance to be successful”. My bet is on the run game and lambert as being the “safe” choice. Another year of screens on 3rd down into a stacked box.
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“Another year of screens on 3rd down into a stacked box.”
This I fear.
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There is no way i wish to see Lambert at QB.He looks in over his head and has a lack of arm talent.
He may be the QB but i hope not if he is we will be lucky to even see 10 wins again.
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Don’t forget he has small hands too. Haha
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1) No, only if he has passed the other two would I expect that coronation. Last year is not this year in a lot of ways.
2) The same – concerned, until someone actually looks good at the job.
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Lambert won the position last year coming in mid-summer over Ramsey (who had been in the program for two years), et al. Eason may be worlds better than Ramsey, but my head says he’s no better than Ramsey was last year at this point. Lambert’s only gotten more comfortable with his team and surroundings, it’s his job to lose.
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I’d prefer to watch Eason lose four or five games than watch Lambert win ten.
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Maths are hard.
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Not sure I agree with this … Everyone wanted CMR gone after living through the pain associated with Murray’s redshirt freshman year.
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Yeah, that Carolina game set the tone for a very painful year.
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Heck, I’d even prefer to watch Eason lose four or five rather than watch Lambert win the SEC East. I’m perfectly okay with building for the future.
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I would rather be in Atlanta, but I can see your point of view
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Why? Next year we probably lose Chubb and Sony to the draft. We should set out to win the most games each year because who knows what will happen next year.
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Kirby says he does not not currently have his ideal quarterback. Which means we’re already looking for the next guy (this is always true to some degree). That guy can’t get here until next year at the earliest. That’s assuming we can find the ideal guy and convince him to come. So do we use Lambert, hope we find that guy and then toss him in the deep end as a true freshman? Or do we let Eason play this year? The fact that we do have Chubb and Sony ought to make it much easier to break in a true freshman. You are correct to point out the neither of them are like to remain in Athens long. Developing Eason now gives us the luxury of one to two years before we have to start the next guy. Hopefully by then we also find the next, next guy. Got to start developing depth.
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Not naming a starter immediately following G-Day is forgivable and understandable. But waiting until August would be disastrous – both from a fan support and QB psyche standpoint.
I believe Lambert would probably be a better choice if all you were worried about was 2016. But that’s not the game we’re playing here. We’re trying to get to the SECCG and win it within the next three years. Starting Eason now and giving him a chance to be the starter his freshman year would, I think, make him a much much QB for ’17 and ’18 than he otherwise would have been.
Plus if you start Eason in September and you have to sit him because he sucks so bad after a few games, then no one will blame you. But if you start Lambert in September and he sucks then your name will be dirt.
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It’s hard to imagine Lambert has gotten much better from last year. That coupled with the fact that he is dead end tech (senior) leads me to think that Eason will eventually be the starter for UGA at some point this year.
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Honestly, I’m not going to read anything into QB performances at G-Day. Unless the coaches believe Eason to be the next coming of Aaron Murray, I see the offensive formula for 2016 just like 2014 – the run game is king, and any passing success flows from it. This is why I fully expect Lambert to be named the starter, at least for the opener. Yes, he is a mediocre QB, but I’d venture to say he knows how to run the offense better than the other two, and if the coaches can squeeze Hutson Mason-esque performance out of him, there’s almost zero chance Eason gets significant playing time this year.
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Eason could go 23 of 25 with 5 tds tomorrow and he’s not getting named the starter. No one will get that distinction before 8/15/16 IMHO. There will be apprehension no matter who gets it. If it’s lambert just add a big scoop of disgust on top.
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Let’s see what his red zone numbers are before we jump to any conclusions.
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The hurdle Eason has to overcome is the fact that he did not take snaps from under center in high school. There is a lot of footwork involved in a drop-back pro-style offense with play action. I just don’t think he can master the details in the limited practice time he has had.
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Looks like the meme has gone from “Kirby knows what he’s doing! We will never lose again!” to “What is Kirby doing? If he doesn’t do x by y, WE’RE DOOMED!!!!”
Now, that’s the bipolar UGA fan base I’ve always known and loved. Me? I don’t care if Eason comes out in a tutu Saturday, throws for 800 yards, and Kirby doesn’t name a starter until the bus ride to the Dome and UNC. This is what so many people wanted so badly. Let’s see what he does before we start getting all panicky.
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The coaches need to quit looking at Lambert in practice and instead look at his game film. He was able to fool the coaches last year, too, and we know what that got them. R-U-N-N-O-F-T.
The fans will have zero patience with Lambert this year. Better to lose with the “next big thing” than lose with last year’s model.
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Oh, and thank goodness they found some musical talent for the weekend. All is well now.
Yes, that was sarcasm, and stay off my lawn.
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…and that doesn’t mean you can cut across my lawn as a shortcut leaving Russ’s.
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Ludacris, wasn’t it, that McGarity couldn’t find a musical act for 93K Day? Simply LUDACRIS.
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I think the coaches probably have looked at the game film on Lambert. In fact Smart spent quiet a lot of time studying Lambert before the Bama/ GA game last year. I think the G day game would tell us a lot more if the QB’s did not wear non-contact jerseys. See how Lambert does with Lo Carter about to knock the crap out of him.
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I’ll go with the QB which ever Kirby and Chaney determines will best win games of the Dawgs. Go Dawgs, Sic ’em.
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Schott didn’t seem to know how to develop a college QB (which doesn’t have the time of a NFL QB). Chaney may not be a genius but he does have experience in this area. Chaney’s resume would also lead me to believe he’ll when with whatever is in the toolbox rather than force the toolbox to his plan.
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I’m thinking that Eason won’t be named the starter until the fall so that Ramsey doesn’t transfer out over the summer. Lambert is kind of pot-committed, but we are dangling a carrot in front of Ramsey right now for the sake of depth. It’s in the coaches’ interest to prolong the announcement until all 3 QBs are on the football team for the season.
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OMG! You guys left the lay-up snark until this deep in the comments?? OK, you asked for it….
Whoever wins the QBR contest should be named starter PAWWWWLLLL!!!
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I thought it was supposed be whoever finishes 2nd in the QBR contest
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That comes after the first loss.
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Are you telling me we are not going undefeated this year? If so, my shoe phone inventory is going to take a real hit
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I think it’s too early to name anyone. My guess is they will tell the players where they stand but that the competition will continue in Fall camp..
What I’m wondering about is who leads the summer workouts – Lambert seems like the best for that based on what little I know.
If we could name a starter with 2 weeks left in Fall camp I’d be happy.
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