ATHENS, Ga. - There is no going back and easing Jacob Eason into his freshman season.
Georgia's touted quarterback experienced a sped-up learning curve during last Saturday night's 28-27 win at Missouri. With a stalled running game, the 6-foot-5, 235-pounder completed 29 of 55 passes for 308 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, including a 20-yard touchdown to Isaiah McKenzie on his final throw of the game.
Eason came off the bench to help the Bulldogs win their opener over North Carolina in Atlanta and won his first career start, albeit barely, against Nicholls State in Sanford Stadium. After winning his first road start, he now gets the opportunity to win a road game against a ranked foe, with the No. 12 Bulldogs playing at No. 23 Ole Miss this week.
"I think with the reps he's gotten, he's grown and he's gotten better," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. "The kid has grown up a lot, and I think with each and every rep he's got to continue to grow. He's shown the propensity that when he makes a mistake once he can usually correct that, but you're talking about exponentially how many things can happen in a play that he's never seen, and now you're trying to fix all those things.
"Sometimes they've got to happen before you fix them. You don't learn unless you get the experience. He's gotten some valuable experience the last two games, but let's be honest, he's a freshman."
A freshman who has compiled more numbers than were expected to this point.
Eason's 55 passes were more than any quarterback had in a game during Mark Richt's 15 seasons as coach, and he has 87 attempts this season. That ranks fifth within the Southeastern Conference, with his 214.3 passing yards per game ranking sixth.
In Georgia's winning drive at Mizzou - Eason's last pass to McKenzie occurred with 1:29 remaining and capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took just 2:03 off the clock - the Bulldogs converted a third-and-10 with a pass-interference penalty and a fourth-and-10 with the score.
"I think he's grown up a lot," junior fullback Christian Payne said. "He showed a lot of resiliency and confidence in the huddle, especially during the last drive through his actions. It's fourth-and-10 and your backs are against the wall, and he delivered in the moment, which is really good for a freshman quarterback in an SEC road game.
"He's definitely gotten more comfortable, and he's going to get more comfortable as it goes along."
Smart has implemented a policy of not allowing true freshmen to talk to the media, which is yet another page he has taken from the Alabama playbook. In February, when he was still weeks away from competing against Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey in Georgia's first spring practice, Eason said, "I want to just buy into the system, and then whatever happens will happen. I will be excited either way."
Eason provided plenty of excitement last Saturday night, and the stage only gets bigger this week.
"The big thing with Jacob is he has improved every game," Smart said. "That's what we want to continue to do. He continues to improve and develop, and it helps our offensive football team. Jacob has done a good job up to this point. He has to stay in that mindset of being able to execute that offense.
"That's the most important thing."
Odds and ends
Sophomore defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter remains on suspension and will not make this week's trip, Smart said in a news conference after Tuesday's practice.... Freshman receiver Riley Ridley did not travel to Missouri after breaking a bone in his lower thumb against Nicholls State, and he is questionable this week.... The Macon Telegraph reported this week that Georgia and Virginia will play in the 2020 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.