Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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added a new element of athleticism to the position. He rushed for 298 yards and used his legs to buy more time while passing for 2,405 yards and 12 touchdowns. Running didn't come naturally for Golson. The Myrtle Beach, S.C., native ranked sixth all time nationally in TD passes thrown (151) as a high school quarterback. While he could use his feet and basketball background to extend plays in the pocket, Golson never con- sidered himself a runner until he was asked to be one at Notre Dame. "Coming out of high school I was a passer, didn't really run the ball too much," he said. "Then it was kind of implemented and expected of me to run in 2012. Now I'm getting more comfort- able with that and I'm becoming more of a dual-threat quarterback." Rees had a stronger understanding of the offense and bailed Golson out of a handful of pressure situations en route to an undefeated regular-season record. Kelly felt more comfortable with Rees changing plays and reading defenses than with the then-rookie Golson doing the same. As a senior, Golson has made up some ground in that department. He is work- ing with solely a quarterbacks coach, Matt LaFleur, for the first time in his ca- reer. He and LaFleur spent the summer studying film and trying to get a firmer grasp on the offense. Kelly said Golson's overall under- standing of what the Irish are trying to accomplish with the ball is ahead of Zaire, which was another major factor in him eventually winning the job. He still isn't as advanced as Rees in that area, but his athleticism will allow Notre Dame to run things differently. "Tommy needed to check a lot of plays. We don't have to block that [de- fensive] end for Everett every play," Kelly said. "We had to for Tommy. He wasn't going to make the end miss. Ev- erett doesn't have to check every player and every pressure. It's a little bit of a different offense." Zaire also has the same ability to use his athleticism to get out of trouble if Notre Dame has to call on him at some point this season. Kelly said the Irish won't design a specific package for the sophomore to get into games and build experience. At the same time, that's because for the first time Kelly doesn't have to design separate offenses for quarterbacks with different skill sets. Kelly prefers Golson to remain the starter for the entire 2014 season, but he's confident in Zaire's ability to take over if he's needed. The sophomore has never been shy about wanting to take the job from Golson. He told report- ers this spring he planned on starting against Rice. His response when Kelly told him that Golson would be the starter was similar. "I got the right answer from Malik — he wasn't happy," Kelly said. "If he gave me a hug, I'd be very disappointed. So he went out and practiced well and he wants to be the starter here. He's going to keep working to be the starter." Golson knows Zaire will continue to push him throughout the regular sea- son. What sets Golson apart for now is the opposite from what helped him win the job in 2012. Athletically, Zaire is on an equal plane. But when it comes to the full job of being a quarterback at Notre Dame, Golson is ready to get started. ✦