Georgia Football: 5 reasons why Jacob Eason will be SEC’s top QB in 2017

4. Arm strength

Eason has one of the strongest arms in the nation. Of course, for him to exhibit said arm he needs time to throw the ball, so the first point becomes even more important. At the same time, Eason needs to settle for a short pass in the flats to one of his running backs instead of a 30-plus yard throw when the play calls for it.

Eason threw passes of 30 yards or longer in 11 of 13 games this season. He failed to do so against South Carolina, easily his worst game of the season, and against Ole Miss, a game in which multiple receivers dropped passes.

Ironically, Eason’s strongest game of the 2016 season was in a 17-16 loss to Vanderbilt and Eason’s longest throw of the game was on the lower end compared to other games in the season. However, he completed 68 percent of his passes, threw for 346 yards, and averaged 8.65 yards per passing attempt, far exceeding his season average of 6.57. Eason also avoided throwing any interceptions.

In short, he threw multiple passes for 20 yards or more but also connected on the intermediate throws when necessary. Eason can unleash the ball when the circumstances are right, but a seasoned quarterback knows when to make those throws.