Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Upon Further Review todd D. burlage that let down an entire football program was disappointing from Golson, mainly because leadership and character start with taking responsibility for one's actions, and Golson will largely be responsible for the Irish fortunes next season. "Did you cheat on a test?" Staples asked. "Yeah, something like that," Golson coyly responded. Golson hasn't been as forthcoming as most Notre Dame fans would like to see from one of its future team leaders. But when asked about returning to Notre Dame, Golson refreshingly said football is secondary to the other lessons he learned in the five months since his dismissal. "A more polished individual, that goes for on and off the field," said Golson, when asked what Notre Dame can expect upon his return. "I know a lot of people will still focus on me actually getting back on the field. I think I am more focused on getting back in the classroom because that's where it happened." From purely a football standpoint, all the news points to Golson ready to be part of the Notre Dame community again in December and officially re-enroll in January. If the projected time frame holds together, Golson will actually practice with the team for bowl game preparations, which is great news for Golson and the future of the Notre Dame program. No live game situations or practice reps between Golson's last appearance in January and his return in December will be a setback in his development. But to his credit, Golson has spent his time in football limbo doing the right things and trying to improve his game with some tutelage from quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr., whose protégé list includes NFL players Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and Ben Roethlisberger, as well as reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M. Golson was solid while carrying Notre Dame to an undefeated regular season in 2012. But the unexpected run for the Irish to the national title game created a bit of false belief that Notre Dame had a future Heisman Trophy winner. There were some flashes of brilliance and obvious improvement from Golson in 2012, but his final stat line was rather pedestrian compared to the other BCS quarterbacks. Golson finished the 2012 season ranked just No. 61 in total offense, and the Irish ranked only No. 74 in passing efficiency, easily the lowest among the 10 BCS qualifiers. No quarterback tutor can replace the lessons learned from the live game reps Golson missed this season. But working with Whitfield is the best remedy in preparing Golson for the improvement he needs to become an elite quarterback, and hopefully a strong leader who is readily willing to admit his mistakes. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com