Local athlete proves himself- again

Local football star and Snohomish County Native Jacob Eason was taken in round four of the 2020 National Football League Draft, selected 122 overall to the Indianapolis Colts

From Lake Stevens to Athens and the University of Georgia, moving onto University of Washington, and now landing in Indianapolis. A highly talented quarterback who many got to see locally is now officially a National Football Leaguer  But it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the new Colts Quarterback.

Eason took the country by storm in high school as a five-star recruit. Eason ended his time in High school with over 9800 passing yards, 102 touchdown passes,  only 18 interceptions, and a 68% completion percentage.

As a top five recruit in the country, Eason had eyes on him from everywhere. 

“Best quarterback to come out of the Wesco conference in the past decade by far,” says former Jackson High School lineman Elijah Crooker. Jackson and Lake Stevens are two Wesco schools that duel each other quite often “I once saw him throw a 60-yard touchdown rolling out of the pocket off his back foot,” said Crooker, in utter awe of Eason

In his senior season, after guiding the Lake Stevens Vikings all the way to the state semi-finals, Eason had a big decision to make. Eason was one of the best high school quarterbacks in the nation and had offers from top college football programs like  Florida, Alabama and Georgia. 

Jacob Eason ended up enrolling at the University of Georgia and from the beginning, there were high standards for the young QB. 

Things for Eason did not go quite as planned, however. 

Eason had a solid freshman season, playing in 13 games and throwing for 16 touchdowns.  Eason was headed into his sophomore season, his is a crucial year for college quarterbacks. Players typically make a jump after familiarizing themselves with offensive schemes and their environment altogether. 

In the first game of his sophomore season, Eason injured his knee after a late out-of-bounds hit. The season looked to be a bust for Eason and Georgia, but to add salt to the wound Eason lost his starting job to freshman Jake Fromm.“Things happen in life,” said Eason after his injury. “You just have to accept them, move on and learn from the situation.” After losing the starting quarterback position, even after his recovery, Eason decided to leave Georgia and transfer following the 2017 season. 

Then, on Jan 9, 2018, The Seattle Times reported that Eason would be transferring to the University of Washington. He would be returning home. Because of how the NCAA football transfer eligibility rules work, Eason would have to sit out the 2018 season. after sitting on the sidelines for the whole season, Jacob Eason would win the starting quarterback job for the 2019 season. All he had to do now was prove to the country that he is the quarterback that everyone thought he was.

In his first start for the Huskies in 2019, he completed 27 of 36 passes and threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns as Washington demolished Eastern Washington. He went on to throw for 3,132 yards and had 23 touchdowns to go with 8 interceptions. Eason was proving to the country that he still had gas in the tank. Eason finished the season with the Huskies and on Dec 26, 2019, Jacob Eason decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL Draft.

While most experts didn’t have Eason on the exact same level as LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, or Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Eason still had value to a handful of teams. Standing at 6’6 with plus arm power and throwing accuracy that he possesses, Eason fits the classic NFL prototype in regards to the quarterback position.

At the end of the day, Jacob Eason was the sixth quarterback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. After a serious injury altered the course of Eason’s college career, Eason fought one last season at UW to prove to the country that he is NFL-material and not just a high school superstar. The Indianapolis Colts saw the potential in Eason, and he now has the opportunity to be great and make Snohomish County proud again.