Brian Spurlock – USA TODAY Sports
The quarterback competition for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish has seemingly resolved itself following the announcement that senior quarterback Everett Golson would be transferring out of South Bend for his final season of eligibility. While Golson hasn’t yet decided where he will continue his career, we know one thing for sure: His promising start at Notre Dame will end with a whimper.
Golson burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2012 when he took command of the Notre Dame offense and led them to a perfect regular season and a berth in the BCS National Championship. On the way, he passed for 2,405 yards while rushing for another 298 yards and accounted for 18 total touchdowns. While Notre Dame’s perfect season met an ugly end in the title game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Golson appeared like a star in the making for the Irish.
But that’s where things started to go off the rails for the talented signal caller. Golson was suspended from school for “poor academic judgement” that would ultimately cost him the entire 2013 season. Instead of transferring to an FCS school to try and play right away, Golson took a semester off, reportedly working with a quarterbacks coach, before re-enrolling at Notre Dame in January of 2014. He worked his way back onto the team and earned the starting job once again heading into last fall.
Despite rising again to the No. 1 spot on the depth chart, however, Golson could not recapture the magic that propelled the Irish to the national title game in 2012. While he was more prolific as a passer (3,445 yards and 29 touchdowns) and remained dangerous with his legs (283 yards and 8 touchdowns), his 22 turnovers (all in the last 10 games of the season) led all Power Conference quarterbacks. He would ultimately start losing snaps to the younger Malik Zaire, whose start in the Music City Bowl against the LSU Tigers and work during spring practice put him in line for an expanded role in 2015.
Instead of fighting against it, Golson ultimately decided to step aside and let Zaire take control of the team moving forward. Golson’s run at Notre Dame will be highlighted by their undefeated regular season in 2012 followed by a series of unfortunate events that undercut his potential rise to stardom. Will a change of scenery this fall help Golson finish his career on a high note?
You can follow Tyler Brett on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.
