… so why didn’t he choose to run out of trouble more often?
“A lot of it was freshman nerves,” Eason said after the Liberty Bowl. “Moving around wasn’t my big thing and wasn’t my skill set, so I wasn’t comfortable doing that. Now, when the opportunity is there, you’ve got to take it.”
Running was never hailed as the 6-foot-5, 235-pounder’s primary asset last winter, when he enrolled early as the top quarterback nationally according to ESPN and Rivals.com. It wasn’t by the end of last season, either, but Eason had discovered using his feet was getting him out of dire predicaments.
Eason had 15- and 8-yard runs against TCU in Memphis, with the former his longest of the season, topping a 12-yard scramble at Missouri. His coaches hope to see more of that ability.
“He’s got to understand where the sticks are and to go get them,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the Liberty Bowl. “He scrambled for a couple of first downs that were big momentum swings, and I just think that Jacob is growing up.”
Said offensive coordinator Jim Chaney: “He’s still just so young that he doesn’t always know when to do it.”
First off, when you’ve played your high school career in a shotgun, five-wide set, the need for you to run simply isn’t there. Second, I suspect that having Eason run early on last season wasn’t exactly a high priority on Smart’s and Chaney’s to-do list. So laying all of that on the kid is a bit unfair.
That being said, if the defense is gonna give you something, you’ve got to learn how to take advantage of it. Getting the green light is great, but you still have to know how to drive the car properly.
Apparently Eason’s getting some lessons on that from a couple of skilled drivers.
Smart said in Memphis that Bulldogs tailbacks Nick Chubb and Sony Michel spent time with Eason during the bowl practices to teach him some tricks of the trade.
“With the two best running backs in the nation, it’s not hard to learn from them to see what they do,” Eason said. “Obviously I’m not going to run like them, but they give me an idea.”
I’m really looking forward to that first Eason stiff-arm that extends a run.
Get The Picture 
The rules in football have totally opened this up. You can hardly touch a running quarterback now. Having an immobile quarterback in college football today is like playing with one arm tied behind your back. Just the threat of Eason running next year should help open things up, slow down blitzes, etc.
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He’s little faster than most believe. He’s no track star but he can move if he has to.
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In my view, Eason’s growth and improvement will be the x factor for success next year. As Jacob goes, so goes Georgia.
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Right, sniff.
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Eason has shown he’s not afraid of contact. That’s half the battle.
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Yeah, he’s a big kid too, prob outweighs all his receivers and maybe a couple tight ends too…..maybe he should go to tight end classes to get used to taking hits.
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I know everybody is classifying both Stafford and Murray as pro style quarterbacks but both of them had success running the football. Stafford’s running ability was a shock because everybody wanted to talk about his arm. He had a lot of success running. He wasn’t that fast but he saw everything on the field and took advantage of it. Everybody likes to talk about arm strength but time and again seeing the field well is the most important aspect of quarterback success. Eric Zeier may be the best example of that. Eason’s ability to see the field better will impact both his passing and his running.
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Stafford was also tough as shoe leather, and a leader.
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As was Murray. I can’t knock Eason’s courage, he took some shots last year and went for the marker . But he does need to realize when to run, and that he is often the unaccounted for back. I am more concerned about accuracy when throwing on the run, that alone can make him a more effective runner.
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I think he will be OK. One thing I remember about Stafford in particular was how much he matured physically while he was here. If we see that kind of change in JE, that stiff arm Bluto mentioned will have some zip on it.
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But to paraphrase Crash Davis, I hope he remembers to throw the stiff with his left arm. Don’t stiff arm with your throwing hand.
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Still my favorite Aaron Murray play … even with the guys dropping like flies on that sandpit that masqueraded as a football field in Knoxville. Murray basically said to everyone we are not losing.
I have no doubt that if we lost our entire linebacking corps, Aaron would have put an extra chin strap on his helmet that day and tried to tackle every Volunteer with a ball.
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I love the way he split and shook off the two DBs converging on him to make the tackle.
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Wouldn’t it be cool to see JE show up with that kind of attitude this season? it could happen.
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Murray is the greatest UGA QB of all time IMHO. I don’t think the guy ever got a fair look at from the Chiefs (they never even put him in a game) and the rest of the NFL was too hung up on the height issue to give him a chance. Any of those GMs ever hear of Russell Wilson? Or Drew Brees?Murray was and is a DGD.
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Just a hell of a run.
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Said offensive coordinator Jim Chaney: “He’s still just so young that he doesn’t always know when to do it.”
Oh, I think he learned pretty quickly. Only so many hits from SEC DE’s before you realize you need to get moving to save your own ass. Jacob tried to stay behind the LOS and find a receiver instead of tucking and running. That will be the only difference this year.
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It’s all academic if Eason doesn’t improve his accuracy this year. Having a couple of good runs against a TCU team that hadn’t practiced for it is different from having teams expecting it.
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