Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Trophy chatter — when Notre Dame started 6-0 and climbed to No. 5 in the country. With 41 career touchdown passes, 14 rushing scores, nearly four miles of to- tal offense (6,431 yards) and 17 wins in his first 19 starts, Golson leaves Notre Dame as one of its most productive quarterbacks in program history. And with 14 interceptions and eight lost fumbles last season, along with losses in his final four starts, Golson also leaves here as one of its most maligned quarterbacks, even if he was only one part of a total team demise in 2014. Injuries, sketchy work by the Irish offensive line, no commitment or con- sistency to the running game, plus a de- fense that gave up more than 40 points a game the second half of the regular season, all disproportionately put win- ning and losing squarely on Golson's shoulders in 2014, along with all the blame. Ultimately, the 22 turnovers last sea- son from a quarterback being asked to make nearly every offensive play became too much for Kelly to handle, and changes were made. The seeds of Golson's transfer were planted when he was yanked in the regular-season finale against USC, then benched in favor of Zaire as the starter in the Music City Bowl, and finally being given no guarantees this spring to be the starter in the fall — a job he deserved, earned and needed in order to rebuild his rep- utation. According to NFL Draft analyst Scott Wright of DraftCountdown.com, the fi- nal five games of the 2014 regular season dropped Golson from potentially being selected within the first three rounds in 2016 to a projected fifth- or sixth-round choice, or perhaps even worse. "But if Everett Golson puts together an entire season like he did early last season," Wright said, "he absolutely has a chance to become a top-100 pick [first three rounds]." Maybe staying at Notre Dame would have been Golson's best option. Having only three months to digest an entirely new offensive game plan at Florida State will be difficult. Maybe the Seminoles won't have as good a season as an Irish team that returns all of its wide receivers, its top two running backs and a veteran of- fensive line. And maybe Golson would have ended up the starter for Notre Dame in the fall, and this is the worst career choice he will ever make. But criticizing Golson for trying to use his final year of eligibility to maxi- mize his potential as a college quarter- back and his earning power as a future pro is meritless and misguided. In a perfect world for the Notre Dame masses, Golson would have stayed, played and ideally comple- mented Zaire in the same way the two worked so well together in the Music City Bowl. Unfortunately, utopia for a fan base doesn't necessarily line up with para- dise for a player. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com