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INDIANAPOLISIn a candid moment, amidst the biggest job interviews of his life, Jacob Eason shared some of the reasons why he would eventually fall until the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

What did Eason feel like he needed to show to NFL teams during the Combine?

“It’s everything from football IQ, to proving I’m a passionate player and that I love this game,” Eason said.

“I’m going to work hard to be the best I can be. Arm strength can only get you so far. Obviously I can rely on that in a lot of situations on Saturday (in college), and it can allow me to do some pretty cool things with the ball, but I’ve been working on all the other things that go along with that to make me a more complete player.”

Eason knows that there are areas of the game he must grow in, to complement the incredible arm talent he has at 6-6 and 231 pounds.

Growing up Eason had a Peyton Manning jersey and also looked up to Brett Favre.

Known for his daredevil approach to the quarterback position, Favre’s playing style has rubbed off on Eason.

“You’ve got to know your boundaries with it,” the NFL rookie admits. “(But) I prefer to have a gunslinger-type mentality, I’m going to cut it loose every chance I get, but obviously you’ve got to know the situation, you’ve got to know the right thing to do and the wrong thing to do with the ball.

“It’s all about learning. That’s all part of the process of becoming a better quarterback.”

While Eason’s game experience was on the shorter end compared to most drafted quarterbacks, he was thrown into some unique atmospheres.

The consensus 5-star recruit was an early enrollee starting true freshman in the SEC. A knee injury at the start of Eason’s sophomore season at Georgia led to him losing his starting job. Thus, transferring back to his home state of Washington followed.

After sitting out in 2018, Eason started for one season at Washington before entering the 2020 Draft.

“I think early on in my career going from a high school that was a West Coast, no huddle spread offense to a pro-style offense at Georgia as an 18-year old, learning on the fly there, and then ultimately coming to Washington, which was pro style with a little bit of spread mixed in there—two different offenses, two different coordinators, two different head coaches, as I matured and grew older in this profession it all kind of came together and I was able to learn a lot more a lot faster.’’ Eason explains.

That learning must continue as Eason once again heads to the bench to learn another new offense, as he embarks on professional football.

Many thought Eason could improve his NFL stock by returning  to Washington for another season of starting under center.

But even if he admittedly isn’t a totally polished prospect, Eason thought it was time for something new.

“A lot of it was just me feeling ready and ready to take on that next challenge, that next opportunity,” Eason says. “I was in college for four-and-a-half years, long enough for me I felt. I felt like I maximized what I was going to be able to do in terms of school and college and everything around that area.

“The NFL has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, and I felt ready and I wanted to go take on that challenge.’’

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