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SEASON KICKOFF: QUARTERBACKS better spring game performance — 11-of-15 passing for 120 yards with two touchdowns, plus 25 yards rushing — he earned the right to take the first snaps for at least that first practice. Four days later, in the lone prac- tice opened in its entirety to the me- dia, Golson worked with the ones the entire morning. By the time media day rolled around Aug. 16, there was still a checklist of myriad issues to ad- dress with Golson, but Kelly re- plied optimistically and positively to each: • Is Golson continuing to have reads are. But when things don't go as planned, that's the art, being able to scramble and make a read on the run …" Last year, Hendrix tasted both success and failure, and he consid- ers that invaluable entering this season. "I know what it feels like to be a problem with getting the signals from the sidelines to set the offense, like he did in the spring game? "I don't have any concerns that out there," he said. "I don't think I'd be nervous if I went out there again because I know what it's like. I understand that when the lights go on and you're out there it feels silent. I think my experience from that end of it will go a long way." To Golson, the possibility of be- coming the starter is secondary to the preparation needed to get there. As an early enrollee in 2011, Gol- we can't play him because he doesn't know the signals," Kelly re- plied. "… He'll be fine. That won't be a reason why he's not our start- ing quarterback. It will be because he's turning the ball over and not making good decisions — which he hasn't done." • Can he stand in the pocket at six-feet tall and not get too skittish, as young quarterbacks especially are wont to do? "You worry about a kid that's athletic that's going to run out of the pocket at the first sight of pressure," Kelly admitted. "If I was to grade his highest grade, it would be pocket presence." • Is he still a "heart attack" for Kelly, the term that the Junior Andrew Hendrix made his collegiate debut against Air Force in 2011 and led the team with 111 yards rushing in his role as the "change-up" quarterback. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA ond game of his freshman year in 2007, while Rees uti- lized a head start with the knowledge base in the spring to finish 4-0 as the starter to end the 2010 season. Golson wasn't necessarily expecting to step in right son was expecting to follow the lead of Jimmy Clausen and Tommy Rees, the only other two Irish quar- terbacks who enrolled early since 2006 (until Gunner Kiel this year). Clausen was the starter by the sec- Irish head coach used at the end of spring to describe the high-risk, high-reward athletic skills of Golson and sopho- more running back George Atkinson III. "Those two guys are no longer on that heart attack list," Kelly said. He even made it a point to note that of the 126 passes attempted by Golson in scrimmage situations during the first two weeks, only one had been intercepted. In their meetings with the media, both Golson and Hen- drix have carefully monitored their words. "I try not to get into it," said Myrtle Beach, S.C., native PREP WORK Golson on whether he will be the starter versus Navy. "Both Andrew and I have that mentality." It's been a gradual process for Hendrix to assimilate away like Clausen, but he did envision seeing action. Ei- ther he or Hendrix were expected to be the change-up to Rees in a 2011 package that would better highlight their mobility. However, Hendrix didn't make an entry until the sixth game, and Golson not at all. "It was very difficult," Golson said of getting demoted to the scout team, where he at least was still awarded Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year by the coaching staff. "Coming in I thought I was ready to compete for the starting spot … I was a little discouraged at first, but it really humbled me and made me realize I had to start at ground zero and work my way back up." From a football standpoint, he had that type of expe- into the spread offense. As a senior at Moeller High in Cincinnati, Hendrix passed for only 1,242 yards and eight touchdowns. Conversely, Golson threw for 11,634 yards and 151 scores during his career in South Carolina — even though he missed half of his senior year with an injury. "In high school, we would just have some high-low reads here and there," Hendrix explained. "We had a huge offensive line and we could blow people out running the ball, so I didn't really need to throw. "I'm starting to understand the science of where my www.BLUEANDGOLD.com rience. An injury forced him to the sidelines for half of Myrtle Beach High's season in 2010, his senior year. At Notre Dame, though, that ground didn't cover just the gridiron. His academic standing and adjustment needed more work, as did his punctuality and attention to detail — mandates for anyone who wants to be a team leader. In the spring, those areas began to improve, as did his concentration on details and in film study. "I didn't get into the depth chart thing," Golson said of controlling only what he can. "It was just really improv- ing on my game and really buying into what the coaches were selling." That message was consistency in his attitude toward competition on a full-time basis in all endeavors. "I think just consistency — not be that one-time wonder, where I just come out of nowhere," Golson explained of his gradual rise last spring. "Definitely being more consis- tent on and off the field, that includes just being there on time, being focused and ready to go." PRESEASON 2012 41