Jacob Eason sees more time with Georgia Bulldogs first team offense

Heralded Georgia freshman quarterback Jacob Eason has been working more with the first team in recent practices.

After Saturday’s second preseason scrimmage, first-year Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart explained why.

“He didn’t go with the ones at all in the spring, so it was a situation where we wanted to catch him up and evaluate him and get him more reps,” Smart said in a news conference. “He’s growing as a player, and the fact that our other two quarterbacks (Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey) have been in a college system for three or four years puts them at an advantage from the standpoint of dropping back and making decisions and seeing coverages.

“We’re trying to find out what he can do, and I think he’s responded to it. He’s had the opportunity to make more plays, but he’s had the opportunity to make more mistakes. He’s done both.”

Saturday’s scrimmage was delayed early on for nearly 40 minutes due to thunderstorms, and it was Georgia’s last practice until Tuesday. Smart said today and Monday will be key in making decisions not only at quarterback but at several other positions.

Even if Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney settle soon on a starting quarterback or decide to move forward with two quarterbacks heading into the Sept. 3 opener against North Carolina, they may not reveal their decisions.

“We’ll evaluate the plan at hand, and it will be what it will be,” Smart said.

When the Bulldogs resume practice, the focus will not immediately turn to the Tar Heels, who won the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference last season and gave eventual national runner-up Clemson a scare in the league championship.

“We’ll continue to fundamentally get better,” Smart said. “We’ve been working as coaches on all of our opponents. We’re doing a different opponent every day in practice. We’ll start working on North Carolina when we feel we’re ready.”

Smart did not provide statistics from the closed scrimmage but said the offense ran the ball well and was physically tougher than the defense. He added that the inclement weather resulted in a lot of wet-ball opportunities, pointing out that the center-quarterback exchange was good but that things got sloppy on extra-point and field-goal attempts.

Georgia’s assistant coaches worked Saturday’s scrimmage at the locations they will use this season, with Chaney and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker scheduled to accompany Smart on the sideline.