In response to my Saturday post about Fromm pushing Eason, a Twitter thread popped up in which Dan Wolken shared this:
To which my first thought was wondering whether Eason’s inaugural season was worse than I thought. Plenty of commenters here have already compared it to the last time time Georgia started a true freshman, Stafford’s 2006 season, and found that it was a better one statistically.
Then, there’s also this chart Phil Steele compiled of 2016’s top 50 true freshmen quarterbacks and their impact on the last season. The first thing to notice there is that the vast majority of them either redshirted or played very little, as only six of those on the list had more than 100 pass attempts. (BREAKING: Starting as a true freshman quarterback isn’t easy.)
Far be it from me to say Eason had a season for the ages in 2016, but notice that no quarterback who attempted more than 100 throws managed to top a 140 passer rating. Jalen Hurts did turn in a fine year when you factor in his running stats, but he had a much better surrounding cast than did his Georgia counterpart.
All of which brings me back to the point I’ve been making about this whole Eason/Fromm deal, which is that the odds of replacing one true freshman quarterback’s season with another that will turn out significantly better seem rather long. Even if we assume for the sake of argument that Fromm’s intangibles exceed Eason’s (who, remember, should have finished last season with two game-winning touchdown throws), he’s still going to be working with the same playbook and offensive coordinator, most of the same receiving corps and another rebuilding exercise on the offensive line. Somebody needs to explain to me how that’s a recipe for success.
I’m not trying to knock Jake Fromm here. He appears to have a great future at Georgia. But unless he turns out to have an unprecedented rookie season as a roaring success, the only two things I can see likely resulting from him being named the starting quarterback over Eason is that Georgia would be headed for a second straight throwaway year and Eason would be headed to another football program.
Speaking of which, here was my second thought after reading what Wolken tweeted.
Get The Picture 
Jacob Eason turned into a bust when the uh-oh crowd needed some click bait. Thanks for taking the hit for us.
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“All of which brings me back to the point I’ve been making about this whole Eason/Fromm deal, which is that the odds of replacing one true freshman quarterback’s season with another that will turn out significantly better seem rather long.”
I believe we agree on this issue. It’s not that Eason is so great and Fromm is bad. It just plays against the odds of what we have learned about CFB freshman QBs over the years. Eason has the tangibles to be a really good QB and by Sept he will have 2 springs, 2 summer workouts and 2 fall practices under his belt. How will Fromm over come that experience?
Also, I really feel people have over reacted to Eason’s lack of a spectacular year. I felt he showed much promise with typical freshman mistakes…and some of those supposed mistakes may not have been his. Could have been missed blocks or bad routes.
In short…I feel good about what Eason will be for UGA in the near future. If we protect him and give him time, we will see good things.
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Not buying Wolken’s fake meme but me thinks your post may break the Dawgbone today.
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Wolken has pretty solid sources. I don’t doubt he’s heard that kind of stuff. I just think he’s being bullshitted when he hears it.
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So Wolken infers that coaches (doesn’t specify if it was Georgia coaches) are implying that Eason is a bust?
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My header was a bit tongue-in-cheek. Wolken infers that Fromm has a legit chance at supplanting Eason as the starting QB.
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Competitor coaches saying that they don’t see Jacob as “all that” is what I think we can take from the statement. Our coaching staff wouldn’t say that to a reporter no matter how they felt about it. Of course, I’m sure those other team’s coaches are not inclined to wishful thinking on that subject.
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Dammit, Derek..this is two days in a row I have to agree with you. Wolken is FOS as a Christmas turkey. I believe he just makes shit up.
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Why would Wolken make this up? What benefit does he get out of it? That makes zero sense to me. Wolken is one of the more plugged in reporters on the CFB beat. If he says he heard coaches say they don’t think Eason all that, I’d be inclined to believe it.
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clickbait
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“What benefit does he get out of it?” Clicks. That’s it. These assholes will say anything to get those clicks.
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You guys know he didn’t write anything on the subject, right? It was a tweet. So the “clicks” argument holds zero water. Also, I’m not sure USA Today feels trolling UGA fans is a real profit option. Saying Wolken did this for clicks is lazy.
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I agree Senator, I think that Kirby and CO. are trying their best to push Eason as much as they can and as they should. The catch is he was no bust last year and will NOT be a bust this year. He’s a talented player that they are trying to make better. He’ll do well this year.
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Jake Fromm versus Lee County
Jake Fromm versus Valdosta
Jake Fromm had. ~65% completion ratio versus HS competition versus Eason with a ~ 60% completion against college and SEC competition.
It ain’t Jake this year.
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In coachspeak “if you have two quarterbacks then you don’t have one” BUT in the special forces vernacular ” two is one”. Life is all about presentation and perception. And the last time I looked, Kirby don’t post here much. He was the one hired to make these decisions; not us. Most people come here to second guess them or bitch.
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Right, I don’t doubt Fromm will eventually be a competent college QB, but he struggled against the better teams he faced. It’s good that we have another young guy to compete with Eason, but much of the “Fromm might beat out Eason” comments seem to be coming from the “40-50 year old adolescent, I’m still going to Georgia high school football games every Friday night” crowd. They take it as an insult if someone from out of state beats out one of their Georgia boys. Same with coaches – forget what happened with Ray Goff and what might still happen with Kirby. If Kirby goes, they’ll be screaming “Bring Bobo back!”…even though Colorado State will probably fire him within the next year or two.
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You have the stats backwards.
Jake Fromm’s stats: 60.8%, 112 rating
http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/jake-fromm/5yeQ_xl5EeOZ5AAmVebBJg/gendersport/football-stats.htm
Jacob Eason’s stats: 64.6%, 121 rating
http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/jacob-eason/qlitavTsEeKZ5AAmVebBJg/gendersport/football-stats.htm
Now stats aren’t apples to apples as Fromm played bigger competition, but for the sake of the record, here are the actual numbers.
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My bad… just realized you were comparing Eason in CFB and Fromm in HS. Though your Fromm numbers were a bit off, but I think so were your Eason stats. He was a 55% passer last year.
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Did Eason let UGA down or did UGA let Eason down last season? That’s the real question. I say the latter.
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I think it’s both. Personally I give Eason as pass for last year, but that pass is a one-time deal. As a sophomore with a second spring ball under his belt, a second summer throwing session under his belt, plus a full season, Eason should be a competent-or-better SEC QB. He doesn’t need to be and All-American next year, but when a player is wide open he has to hit him. He has to recognize coverages pre-snap, a deficiency that led to a majority of his mistakes a year ago.
Having said that, the OL was a mess, Nick Chubb wasn’t the same RB he used to be, and the WR corps was among the worst in the SEC.
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You’ve identified the “problem”. Eason doesn’t get to be only competent. He was the five star, number one rated qb in his class. We (uga people) won’t be satisfied with game management. We want Murray-like numbers.
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We might get Murray-like numbers when Eason is a Junior. Murray’s second year as a starter (his third year in the program) looked like this…
59%, 3,100 yards, 7.8 YPA, 35 TDs, 14 INTs.
I could see Eason doing likewise after his third year in the system.
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and the receivers have to catch it when the ball hits them in the hands, I lost count how many times that happened last year
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And the OL has to give him more than 2 seconds to throw said pass.
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Your last paragraph sums up why Lambert didn’t play last year. Coach Smart HAD to find out if Jake could play. Seems like he was told to stay in the pocket, no matter the circumstances. Almost looked like Coach and QB “were in it together.” Many people refer to last season as a throw away year, but it looked like a lump taking season to me. It takes a lot of courage and character to put yourself out there. Personally, not many opponents this year are going to enjoy their experience against this team.
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It’s all just made up and flagellant.
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*flatulent
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He’s right. Check the Lexicon.
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I was making a joke. This is just hot air coming out of someone’s backside. I should have replied, “It could be considered flatulent as well.”
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Wolken’s work, that is.
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From what I’ve seen of Fromm, I’m a huge fan of his and think he is the qb who lead Georgia to a championship. That said, if he somehow wins the starting job this season, Georgia football is in trouble.
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I’m from Warner Robins, so I would lovelovelove Fromm to be the one that leads UGA to the promised land. But, you’re right. If he wins the starting job this season, it spells trouble. If he’s competing, and pushing Eason, that means he’s bringing (probably) more value to the team as a true freshman than true freshen QBs typically bring in the SEC. It also means he can be a competent caretaker in the case of (heaven forbid) an injury to Eason.
I think the coaches still hope that Fromm can redshirt, but that seems unlikely. He’ll be needed in spots.
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I’m on record as saying Fromm needs to be redshirted and Vaughn needs to be the back-up. If Eason gets hurt and is out for the season then you take the redshirt off Fromm and he becomes the starter if Vaughn doesn’t look like he can do it. Fromm will get a lot more reps if he is the scout team QB. Also, I’m not so sure Vaughn isn’t a better QB than either Eason or Fromm. He hasn’t really gotten a chance yet.
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Hot take!
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True freshmen don’t do well as starting quarterbacks. And before you throw Jalen Hurts at me, here’s a truth bomb: Jalen Hurts didn’t play all that well late in the season, and the Crimson Tide would have beaten Clemson if he was able to complete passes downfield in that game.
Eason will be a better player this fall just on the strength of having a full season under his belt and another offseason to learn from. Anyone that wants Fromm to play extensively this year is insane. I hope that Georgia never has to go through another season with a true freshman shouldering the load.
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Eason’s context is his conference:
He had a 6.6 average on his pass attempts, ranked 11th.
also ranked 11th in his conference in the rating at his position.
He had a rough season.
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Hard to see how he could rank that low in his conference when he had the best offensive line in his conference and the best group of receivers in his conference.
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Eason had his moments to be sure, but he did finish with the lowest rating for a UGA qb I can remember. Spin however you want and it still looks pretty bad. Regardless, either he or Jake will transfer after this season when they find out who will be starting.
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Your memory must suck, if that’s the case. Stafford’s freshman year rating was 109.
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my stats only went back until 2008, like 8 years, just used to our qb’s rockin it in our conference over that span except for J Cox. you did find one who did worse, nice research.
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Your stats? I thought you were referring to what you remembered. Need to up your troll game, brother.
On my part, it’s not research. I saw Staff play in ’06; he wasn’t as good a QB as Eason was last season.
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Staff wasn’t good as a Freshman or Sophomore, so I’m not sure why these folks mention him as the comparison, he showed marginal improvement in accuracy, and overall rating form his Fresh to Soph season, as I recall.
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Because he was Georgia’s last true freshman to start at QB before Eason.
It’s been great having you around. Can’t wait to see you back trolling in the comments section under your next moniker.
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Agree with your post Senator, but I will say that if Eason were to announce a transfer after losing his starting spot, Kirby would likely tell him to not let the door hit his ass. I feel like this is the kind of thinking that Kirby is working to remove from his roster. Instead, no position on the team is safe. Work hard every day to get and stay on the field.
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More likely first thing Smart would tell Eason is the list of places Eason would be barred from transferring to.
Really doubt Eason would care about Smart’s attitude if he were leaving. In the short run the transfer would hurt UGA way more than Eason.
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The most likely place for Eason to go if he were to transfer would be Wazzou and the Pirate would welcome him there with open arms. Falk is a redshirt senior this season.
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it won’t happen, because Smart won’t let Eason know he’s not the starter until minutes before the kickoff of the first game blocking a transfer for the season, he’s not dumb.
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I think the kid could still transfer under your scenario.
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Whomever is better, let’s play that guy.
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Looking at Phil Steele’s chart is troubling for any UGA fan. If you break it out to a minimum 100 passes, among the 6, Eason didn’t finish 1st or even 2nd in accuracy, yards, td’s, or least interceptions or qbr. Fromm finished No 5 on Steele’s chart for 2017 quarterbacks there.
Also, if Smart let Eason start over Lambert who led the team to 10 wins why wouldn’t he let Fromm start over Eason who led the team to 8 wins?
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That’s a recruiting rating, genius. Eason was first the year before.
Christ, if every Eason post is going to be taken as a troll invitation around here, I’m going to quit posting about Eason.
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Thanks in advance.
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Please do. The whole concept is a waste of time. Eason is our QB. Nuff said.
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But look at the laughs will miss out on by not having some of these posts to read. 😉
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Agreed. People need to move on from this notion that Fromm will be the starter. Barring injury, Eason will be the guy.
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I’m sure their is an entire tech dorm room dedicated to trolling GTP.
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Please don’t. It brings the trolls out from under the bridge faster than a herd of baby goats.
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Because Lambert sucked? Is that a good enough reason?
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What an off-season meme!
I hope Jake has a GREAT G-Day!
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Seems like to me it was not that long ago that Wolken was trotting out some other BS to get clicks. Maybe he talked to some coaches. Maybe he heard what he wanted to hear for a tweet. I’m skeptical.
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#fakenews
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Absolutely..and Eason can’t be encouraged or helped by this kind of shit. Wolken is a shit-stirring yellow sports-journalist. I remember when the same ilk tried to claim there was a “QB Controversy” at UGA when David Greene and DJ Shockley were at Georgia (circa 2004). There was not. It was all “made up and flagellent” by certain creepy reporters that hoped to start a fire. The real story was an ill intended attempt by sports-yellow-journalists to create a race based rift that would damage a seemingly blossoming era of greatness for UGA football. (And the classy leadership of both young men, Coach CMR and staff kept the outside agitation from success). There is a whole mine of skull-duggary there that will never be uncovered…I think this is more of the same. Fakenews indeed.
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I’d agree with you if it were only Wolken stirring the pot. But he’s not alone. Ed A the go to SEC guy has said he thinks from what he’s hearing it’s a legit competition, also Kirby Smart has echoed that. So we’re saying it’s a conspiracy, and they’ve gone all X files on us, Coach Smart is in on it too, I love good conspiracy theory.
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Ed A is a Florida homer who works to get clicks for ESPN.
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Then he would want Georgia to stay with Eason, who UF easily beat last year right?
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Nah, fakenews. Trust me. Fromm is getting work but no one is pushing Eason other than himself. Eason will be overall number one pick in draft. Guys like that don’t play second string.
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Really?
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Tom Brady was overall number 1?
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Let’s not forget Jacob was running for his life most of the time last year. He threw off his back foot many times because of the heat he was receiving. Granted, he missed some open receivers even when he was not under duress and many times he really looked the part of a raw freshman. I think he settles into the system this year with more help from his OL, not to mention his OC. I believe Jake Fromm is the real deal, and I still think that about Jacob Eason. We need them both, and it’s a win-win if they push each other.
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True, the OL and WR corps were bad, but it won’t be better in 2017 at either unit. Jacob looked pretty solid in the Bowl game, it seemed to be finally clicking for him, if that’s a sign of what’s to come, I can live with that.
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It is really tough to complete passes when you have no blocking and receivers who can’t catch–not to mention a dope for an OC and blockhead for a HC. Frankly, I am amazed Eason did as well as he did last season.
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Lol……well said
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Eason could have done better, he could have done far worse. Fromm is an unknown, we will just have to see how quickly he grows into the college game.
I have to question given what Smart is saying about the defense, that they are complacent, Is this is a ploy to push Eason? I don’t know and I don’t care if it gets results.
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Fromm is used to running a Pro Style from what I’ve heard, I think that transition has been tough for a shotgun guy like Eason, so give him that. I am not sure Eason could have done much worse, our guys at Qb are usually top 5 conference wise in rating, except for outliers like Joe Cox. Might come down to who can process things faster, who can run the rpo better, and intangibles like leadership Smart keeps throwing around. If Smart learned anything from Saban it’s play the best, no one’s entitled.
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Eason was pro-style as well. The last time I watched videos of Fromm on Hudl he was vastly shotgun as well.
I am not saying Fromm doesn’t have a shot at starting but that the staff maybe playing up his chances.
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Eason is much more comfortable in the shotgun. Fromm played mainly Pro style and they ran a lot of rpo so the transition will be easier, Eason had longer to go, all I’m saying. As for the coaches playing it up theory, you’ll have to throw in the SEC anonymous coaches, they’re all in on it, it’s a scam and the journalists, to make your theory stick. Usually, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
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Oy. Do you have any idea what the difference is?
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All I know is Fromm came awful close to beating Deshaun Watson’s records. Decent company would you say?
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So did Hutson Mason.
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Well played while Hutson Mason in my opinion was solid college QB. He was not elite.
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Mason would have been a better QB if he had multiple seasons as a starter. We’ll never know how good Mason could have been. People all focus on his lack of arm strength but there is a whole lot more to playing QB than arm strength alone.
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I get back to Bama has won national titles with QBs with likely lesser arms. Mason could make all the throw and statistically had a solid year. QBR was in the same ballpark as what Murray posted the year before. Yards were down but Gurley and Chubb were falling on all cylinders. If Mason had another year, I would gladly have watched him play in ’15 or ’16.
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*hitting on all … long day
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And Lambert set a NCAA record against USCe
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or more accurately playing down Eason.
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Neither qb played in a pro style system at all,I repeat at all in high school.
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Agreed but they were rated as Pro Style by the recruiting services.
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OK. Apples and oranges my man
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Only the UGA faithful make this into a story. Most schools would be proud to 1) have ever signed a QB like Eason, and 2) to have had the season he even had. Must be why other schools recruit so easily…a reasonable fanbase! I guarantee Bama would trade QBs with us in a heartbeat. This is the most absurd nonsense I have ever heard. I will take Eason any day since he has shown he can do what UGA has lacked in a while…the ability to make clutch throws with the game on the line.
Eason is the most prized QB recruit since Stafford and then he has probably a better season than most expected out of a Freshman and now you think a less heralded true Freshman deserves to play? I mean, I don’t even know where to begin with how ridiculous some of you people are. You know, there is another D1 school in the state that could use some fans. Why don’t you give it some thought and quit your endless whining nonsense. Or, everyone keep degrading Eason to the point of having a mediocre career at UGA with no trophies before he goes 1st pick and top 3 passer in the NFL for the rest of his career (sound familiar??). Why don’t you try being positive for your players for once?
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Actually I would say UGA’s fan base is less demanding than Bama, LSU, UF and Auburn’s. Bama would not trade QBs, they wanted a dual threat and they just played for a title..
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I think Saban would trade in a heartbeat, not that it matters.
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If he would, he would have made more of a run on him when Richt was fired and Florida was getting press with their recruitment of Eason. Bama never seemed to much in the mix for Eason. Saban seemingly wanted to go dual threat.
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Ok. This has nothing to do with whether or not they PLAYED in pro style. Both are extremely good. However, they are young. Eason will be the man while he’s on campus,however long that is
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If Jake Fromm starts this year, UGA is in deep trouble.
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Yes, I would agree.
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Love both of them. Don’t forget the Missouri 4th down last minute touchdown and the overlooked TN hail mary. The kid has something special and it showed up quite a bit at the right times last season.
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There are a lot of morons in the media world looking to troll the waters for unsuspecting folks who wear tin foil hats.
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I just don’t see an upside for Fromm as the starter the next 2 years. That means Eason gets hurt or beaten out. I certainly would prefer to see Fromm redshirt in ’17 and play some meaningful snaps in ’18. With all of the other questions on offense, this team does NOT need a QB controversy to go along with it.
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Let’s see. Fromm redshirts one year. Plays some meaningful snaps
for one year, Is the starting QB for one year & then is eligible for the
NFL Draft. He would at least listen. Yeh, that sounds like a plan to me.
Also, As much as I like Fromm, Eason would be my starting QB
for the next two years Or is three more years a remote possibility?
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That’s a fair comment, but Fromm isn’t going to be a 3 years and done player. You knew Staff was only going to be in Athens for 3 and assume Eason will as well. I love Fromm … if he turns out to be Murray with a defense, I look forward to it.
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Vaughn may beat out Fromm? I still believe Fromm Is a future NFL QB.
However, Kirby seems to be looking for a dual threat QB.
Eason remains my choice for QB But I think he may need 4 years
instead of 3 at the college level before jumping to the NFL. Time Will Tell.
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Vaughn may beat out Fromm? I have no idea what you’re talking about because I definitely don’t believe that.
I only think Fromm should redshirt this year for class spacing.
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After reading all these posts I’m ready for the season to begin so we have some actual relevant data to argue over.
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So the main thing I got out of this thread is that Otto, Mayor and DawgInDawsonville are trolling.
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You can refer to DawgInDawsonville in the past tense.
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