New Georgia head coach Kirby Smart maintained his studied habit of refusing to commit to a starting quarterback following this afternoon's sold-out G Day spring game in Athens. Many Bulldog fans are ahead of him in the decision process, whether they're making the right choice or not.
Judged solely on the stats, the Red and Black have a plethora of options at quarterback. It may have been more of a comment on the status of the defense, but it seemed that every signal caller who took the field on Saturday had some luck moving the ball. Brice Ramsey went 16 of 25 for 224 yards on the day. Greyson Lambert completed 11 of 22 for 140 yards. Even walk-on and Dawg Sports favorite Nick Robinson was 5 of 7 with a touchdown.
But it was Jacob Eason who got fans out of their seats. After completing two quick swing passes to Brendan Douglas, Eason hit fellow freshman Riley Ridley on this throw to the left sideline that electrified the stadium.
The freshman from Lake Stevens, Washington 19 of 29 for 244 yards and a touchdown pass to Isaac Nauta. The throw above was the one that really got fans' attention. It's a throw that requires a combination of arm strength and more than a little touch. The kind that's almost indefensible when properly thrown (though Shattle Fenteng wasn't exactly in optimal position on this one, but that's another issue). Eason also threw a couple of passes that should have had the ball boys reaching for new pigskin because the prior ones had scorch marks.
Smart clearly sees the QBs day in and day out. He's seen Eason make freshman mistakes, and he's likely seen Lambert make veteran decisions. And once again we're left to wonder what Brice Ramsey does in practice when it seems that every time we see him he's doing things like hitting Jayson Stanley for a 38 yard strike during the second quarter. The UGA quarterback race is a marathon, not a sprint, and the finish line won't be crossed until August. But it's safe to say that Eason showed enough on Saturday to convince Bulldog fans that his future in the Classic City is very bright, whether it arrives in 2016 or later.
There's a large body of scientific literature out there on the subject of whether or not having more information makes for better choices. Much of it indicates that the more information people have to base their choices on the more likely they are to seize on the wrong information from that vast sea of data.
The Bulldog fans I talked to on Saturday have seen enough. They have visions of Jacob Eason dancing in their heads.