Frank Reich impressed by Jacob Eason preseason debut
Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich was very impressed with how his second-year quarterback Jacob Eason played against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Eason completed 15 of 21 passes (71.4 percent) for 183 yards, while tossing no touchdowns and no interceptions.
The former Washington Huskie led the Colts to 10 points during his two quarters on the field. After the game, his head coach couldn’t say enough good things about him.
“The two-minute drive was a clinic,” Reich said to reporters after the game. “He hit some really nice throws the whole first half. He had a couple lasers in there that really looked good. He put the ball on the ground one time and made one or two errors, mental mistakes that we will clean up. I thought he went out there and showed himself well.”
Reich also talked about a few specific throws that Eason made against the Panthers.
“He made a couple throws,” he said. “The deep ball, obviously with the in cut. He just ripped that thing, man. It was a laser. That catches your eye. Those are big-time throws.” Check the video clip below, where Eason fires a strike down the left sideline to Parris Campbell.
TIMELINE OF QUARTERBACK DECISION
Reich also spoke with reporters about the timeline of when he plans to make a decision on the Colts’ quarterback situation. He’s not in a rush and wants to see the process play itself out.
“We’re trying to not give a final grade just yet. We just want to give this the course to flow out because we know Carson’s (Wentz) probably not playing any preseason games,” he said. “So just give this time. Don’t force a decision before it needs to be made.”
JACOB EASON CAREER ARC
Eason was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 122nd overall selection in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In 2020, Eason served as the third string quarterback, behind Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett.
The Washington native played for both the Georgia Bulldogs and Washington Huskies in college. While at Georgia, he had to compete with former Bulldog quarterbacks Jake Frohm and Justin Fields, so he decided to transfer.
That quarterback room at Georgia was one of the most talented quarterback rooms in college football history; as all three quarterbacks are currently in the National Football League.
JACOB EASON HIGH SCHOOL
Coming out of high school, Eason was one of the most decorated quarterbacks in America, earning Gatorade National Player of the Year honors in 2015.
During his career at Lake Stevens (Lake Stevens, Washington) high school, Eason piled up 9,813 passing yards.
For his entire high school career, he completed 662 of 1,025 pass attempts, while throwing 102 touchdowns and just 18 interceptions. He was the top rated pro-style quarterback in the country, according to Rivals.com.