Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/514677
UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE W hen it comes to fan bases in col- lege football, none is more en- trenched — or arguably more entitled — than Notre Dame's. So when speculation about Everett Golson's potential transfer met real- ity shortly after the spring football sea- son ended, the re- action from much of ND Nation was as predictable as it was vicious. D i s l o y a l , d e - serter, selfish, cow- ard — those were just a few of the nasties thrown at Golson via social media and Inter- net chat rooms after his transfer a n n o u n c e m e n t , when in actuality the former Irish quarterback made the best decision for his future. W h e n N o t r e Dame head coach Brian Kelly indicated immediately after the Blue-Gold Game in April that the quarterback competition would con- tinue into August, Golson had no other choice but to find a fresh setting where he could run the show and not have to look over his shoulder after every mistake. For background, because Golson of- ficially graduated from Notre Dame May 17, he had the option to transfer to another school and play immediately in the fall. The tra- ditional transfer rule of sitting out a year before becom- ing eligible to play does not apply to graduate students. Given that op- tion, and the very real possibility of splitting snaps or playing behind ris- ing junior quarter- back Malik Zaire this fall, Golson opted for a change of scenery (Florida State) where he can begin to rebuild his NFL Draft stock and his reputation as an elite college quarterback. And why wouldn't he? Golson helped the Irish to an unde- feated regular season in 2012 and a trip to the national championship game versus Alabama. He also became the face of the program last year — and even played his way into Heisman Golson's Transfer Was The Wise And Right Move Quarterback Everett Golson, who is headed to Florida State, accounted for 55 touchdowns (41 passing and 14 rushing) and 6,431 yards of total offense while winning 17 of his 23 career starts at Notre Dame. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA