Brace yourself, DawgNation.
247sports.com is reporting that 5-star UGA commitment Jacob Eason (Lake Stevens, Wash.) is taking an official visit to Florida. Luke Stampini of 247sports.com reports Eason will arrive in Gainesville on Tuesday night.
Eason had been committed to UGA since July of 2014. The 5-star quarterback is considered the No. 2 overall quarterback prospect for the Class of 2016. He’s considered to be one of two cornerstones of this year’s signing class at UGA, but this move comes one day after the news Mark Richt had been fired by UGA.
Prior to the Richt news, Eason had not planned to take any official visits other than his trip next month to UGA.
The senior quarterback has already signed his financial aid papers with UGA and it allowed for unlimited contact between UGA and Eason. Eason has been planning his official visit to UGA for Dec. 11. That’s the weekend of the end-of-the-year gala for the football team.
His father, Tony, told DawgNation shortly before Richt was fired his son needed to have a backup plan.
“If things fell apart and things that are out of our control happen, you have to have relationships with other people as a backup or a ‘Plan B’ or whatever you want to call it,” Tony Eason said. “A contingency plan even. It would be stupid not to.”
The contingency plan would likely be if UGA doesn’t end up running the style of offense Eason wants to operate in college.
“If they brought in a Georgia Tech-style system where they don’t want a quarterback like Jake, then no he’s not going to go there. He wants to go to Georgia. I don’t have any indication (a coaching change) is going to happen. First of all, I don’t think this coaching staff is going anywhere and I think they would bring in another Pro-Style guy even if that did happen. But I have faith that things are going to work out.”
Florida received a commitment from 4-star QB Feleipe Franks on Sunday, but offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier had a previous relationship with Eason from when he was recruiting him as the offensive coordinator at Michigan prior to his current position.
Eason must move quickly with his decision. The trip to Florida will be his first official visit, but he’s set to enroll early in January at whichever school he ultimately chooses.
If he follows through on the visit, look for Eason to make other official visits after this one. Michigan and Notre Dame could also be among his official visit plans if they are not already.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.