Jacob Eason comments on his NFL debut against the Panthers

A resounding theme that has been voiced by the players in the NFL preseason: the players really enjoy having the fans back in the stands.

Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Jacob Eason was no different, when he spoke about his NFL debut with reporters on Sunday.

“The biggest thing was the anticipation part of it. Like you said before, it was a long time coming. But overall, just being back on the football field with live action and fans in the stadium. It’s good to have that back–that normalcy.”

Eason looked comfortable in his NFL debut against the Carolina Panthers, completing passes like the 37-yard strike he hit to Parris Campbell down the left sideline.

His performance drew rave reviews from many people, including head coach Frank Reich. The 6-foot-6, 231-pounder completed 15 of his 21 pass attempts for 183 passing yards, while tossing zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Eason was quick to deflect the attention to his teammates when talking about his performance.

“The o-line did an incredible job to give me the time to make those reads. Our playmakers on the outside, Mike, Parris, everybody. Dez had a day. Everybody did their job and went up and made big plays. That’s why we’ve got those guys in the locker room. We know what they can do.”

One interesting comment was that Eason noted the differences between practice and game action, and the clarity on the field for the players. “I think there is some difference in games and practice. It felt like there was a clearer image. There’s a lot less clutter. You don’t have the coaches behind you–the defensive coordinators behind them. There’s a lot less of that out there. It’s just 11-on-11.”

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 to Washington.

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. In the 2016 recruiting class, Eason was rated as the top pro-style quarterback in the country, according to Rivals.com.

The Colts’ next preseason game is Saturday, August 21st at 8:00 PM EST. They’ll face the Minnesota Vikings.