Jacob Eason commits to Georgia: Bulldogs land 5-star QB

Jacob Eason, the nation’s No. 2 pro-style quarterback prospect from Lake Stevens, Washington, solidifies commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs Tuesday morning.

The Georgia Bulldogs have their next star quarterback heading to Athens in a matter of days, as five-star pocket passer Jacob Eason from Lake Stevens, Washington reaffirms his 17-month commitment to the University of Georgia. New head coach of Georgia Kirby Smart was able to mention Eason in his commitment Tweet, as Eason has already signed financial agreement papers to enroll at Georgia in January.

Eason’s commitment to Georgia was a hard one until about two weeks ago when long-time head coach of the Dawgs, Mark Richt, was abruptly dismissed as head coach. Richt had been in Athens since 2001 and along with former offensive coordinator and current Colorado State Rams head coach Mike Bobo were Eason’s two primary recruiters to Georgia.

Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity acted swiftly and hired the Alabama defensive coordinator and former Georgia defensive back in Smart two Sundays ago. Smart then hired former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and former Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman as building blocks to his offensive staff to give Eason and other top recruits in the country what Georgia’s offense going forward will look like.

Eason never de-committed from Georgia, but did take official visits to both the University of Florida and the University of Washington before taking his official with Georgia last weekend. The University of Miami, Richt’s new program, and the University of Notre Dame, Eason’s father’s alma mater, were somewhat in the mix, albeit not anywhere near Eason’s interest in Georgia or Florida.

Eason’s hard commitment to Georgia should allow Smart and his staff to effectively recruit around their rising freshmen pocket passer. Normally coach regime changes have ghastly effects on schools’ recruiting classes, but sealing the deal with Eason over arch rival Florida should help Georgia remain a top 10 recruiting class in the nation.

Look for Smart to build on Eason’s reassurance in the Georgia program. Georgia has not had a quarterback with this level of arm talent since Richt signed a rocket arm out of Highland Park, Texas in 2006. That guy became Detroit Lions starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Eason is the biggest commitment to Georgia in nearly a decade. He could even end up winning the starting quarterback job as a true freshmen in 2016, as Georgia will bring in a new offense. The Eason era in Athens in officially under way.