A little over 4 years ago Everett Golson decided to grad transfer to Florida State for his final season of college football thus ending his much-too-short career at Notre Dame. I am still coping…
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I miss Everett Golson, or should I say I miss the promise of what might have been and what could have been with the former Notre Dame quarterback. The fact that he only played for 2 seasons for the Irish feels like such a shame. While noticing Golson’s name in several different places of the football supplemental I kept registering an internal sigh over and over again. Like most quarterbacks the public eventually turned on Golson–not without cause–and for me it was really disappointing on a personal level to watch that unfold.
Golson will likely be the last Irish player I was too personally attached to since he committed and he remains a cautionary tale not to get too invested in anyone, no matter how talented you think they are or will be. I know I wasn’t alone in believing this skinny kid from Myrtle Beach was going to be The Guy at quarterback and when we started to hear he had the inside track to start in 2012 it felt like it was all falling into place. Not only for Golson himself but the program as a whole.
For a good long while it did look like the sky was the limit. I’d imagine for most there are plenty of negative feelings towards Golson but for me I’ve blacked them all out. I choose to remember the good times and the way his Last of the Mohicans soundtrack senior high school highlights made me feel about the future to come.
Golson’s high school highlights were the best.
One of things about the beginning of Golson’s career was that he existed both as a game-manager supported by a strong defense and someone capable of big-play moments with fantastic displays of playmaking. In 2012, he only passed for 300 yards in a game once, he threw 1 or fewer touchdowns in 9 games, and he was benched three times. Brian Kelly had a point when he told the media, “I would argue Everett Golson rode the bus to the (2013 BCS) championship” when the Irish opened fall camp in August 2014.
Still, Golson nearly etched his name atop one Notre Dame record. Had he not violated team rules and missed the start against Miami in 2012 he would’ve tied the school record for most consecutive wins to begin a career. Had he not been injured and missed the BYU game the record would be his alone.
Do people really care about a somewhat arbitrary team statistic for individual achievement? Likely not that much, after all Tommy Rees started his career on a run of 4-0, then 8-1, then 12-2 and it was never really convincing that he was the best option at quarterback specifically because the team won games at a high clip. Yet, Golson’s record in combination with his exciting athletic flash offered so much promise for the future.
When Golson returned from injury after missing the BYU game he put together the most memorable 2-game stretch of his career facing Oklahoma on the road and orchestrating a come-from-behind win in overtime against Pittsburgh. Those two games featured a combined 542 yards of total offense and 6 touchdowns for Everett–nice numbers for someone supposed to be a game manager for sure–but what really lingers in history was how much Golson looked like the best player on the field for long stretches in those back-to-back weeks as the Irish realistically entered the National Championship race.
And fittingly enough, he was benched briefly in the Pitt game. For the record, Tommy Rees would go 6 of 11 for 64 yards and 1 interception with 0 points scored before Golson was re-inserted to eventually give us the Super Golson 2-point conversion.
What’s amazing was how quickly things went downhill for Golson in his short career. Imagine a scenario where that flag isn’t pulled after the touchdown pass to beat Florida State in 2014. Assuming nothing changes with the win over Navy the next week that would’ve put Golson at 18-1 as a starter for his career and it would’ve seemed absurd he’d only make 4 more starts in his career in South Bend. Additionally, Notre Dame would’ve been 8-0 for the second straight time with Golson at quarterback, ranked 2nd or 3rd nationally at the moment, and Golson would’ve been squarely in the Heisman race.
Through 19 career starts Golson only lost twice (once to the National Champions the other to the defending National Champions in the middle of a 29-game win streak), and he was 371 of 611 (61.2%), for 4,716 yards, with 34 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, plus 570 rushing yards and 13 more rushing scores. By November 2014, Golson had completely shed his skin as a game-manager and was becoming a great college football player.
Of course, with hindsight it’s difficult to see anyone or anything overcoming the Great VanGordering™ that occurred in 2014 (the defense gave up 48.5 per over the last 6 regular season games!) but it does make you wonder if just 1 of those post-Navy games go Notre Dame’s way (particularly Northwestern or Louisville) that maybe Golson returns to South Bend with the Irish being even better than what transpired in 2015.
Why did things fall apart so quickly for Golson?
The story has been written by many that something broke for Golson during the 2014 Arizona State game, although I’m not so sure. After a horrid start of 1 fumble lost, 2 interceptions (including a pick six) with 3 points on the first 7 drives in Tempe, the offense more than stabilized. Over the ensuing 35 offensive drives led by Golson the Irish scored 14 touchdowns and he passed for 863 yards on 90 attempts. You wouldn’t expect to go 0-3 in games* in which you average 33 points, but alas.
*You want some crazy stats? Through the 1982 season Notre Dame had only lost twice ever when scoring at least 28 points–a record of 292-2-0. It’s happened 23 times since the beginning of the 1999 season. That ’99 campaign plus the 2009 and 2016 seasons saw the Irish lose in back-to-back weeks while scoring at least 28 points. The 2014 season is the only one in Notre Dame history where the Irish lost 3 straight weeks while scoring at least 28 points.
Golson’s performance in the 2014 USC was inexcusably poor, although the defense gave up 35 points in the first half and it seems obvious Golson was bound to lead at best another 30-point double-digit losing effort anyway. His biggest problem was this game opened the door to Malik Zaire and even with some of Golson’s clutch passing against LSU in the bowl game (3 straight completions set up the game-winning field goal) this competition carried over into the off-season and I’ve never blamed Golson for seeking greener pastures in Tallahassee.
Most place the blame squarely on turnovers but interceptions were far from the biggest issue. Over his 2 years with the Irish Golson’s 2.68% interception rate is 6th best in Notre Dame history. When you factor in his final season with Florida State he ended his career with a 2.38% interception rate–a stat better than anyone in the Irish record books. Yet, if you don’t throw a pick for 5 straight games but toss up 4 to the opponent like the Arizona State game in 2014 it’s not a winning formula where every game matters in college.
What about fumbling?
Golson’s issues with fumbles really highlight the way the football gods humbled him and let’s not forget he was able to set the school record for consecutive completions because a failed spike attempt was ruled a fumble. Classic Golson!
For his entire career, Golson dropped the ball 23 times in 34 games. He lost 13 of those fumbles so when you look at it in aggregate it doesn’t seem too crippling especially since his interception rate was quite low. He fumbled 4 times against Stanford (losing 3) in 2012 and then only dropped the ball once with no lost fumbles over the next 9 starts. Almost through a year and a half of Golson’s 2-year Notre Dame career he was sitting on 8 fumbles, 4 lost fumbles, with 3 coming in one game.
Then, he’d finish with 12 fumbles and 8 lost over his last 7 regular season games with Notre Dame.
This stigma carried over once he transferred to Florida State. Amazingly, Golson didn’t turn the ball over or so much as fumble through his first 5 games with the Seminoles. They were 6-0 (he had a trio of starts of at least 6-0!) when Georgia Tech upset FSU on a kick six in a game Golson played fine but threw his first interception of the season.
Golson didn’t make the next start due to a “concussion” and was effectively benched the following week against Clemson. When he was inserted into the starting lineup again against NC State after a 2-game absence, Golson lost his first fumble of the season and threw 2 interceptions on the first 5 series of the game before being replaced. Aside from mop-up duty against Chattanooga his college football career ended as he sat on the bench to finish the 2015 season.
That’s a pretty crappy way to end a career.
Looking back, Golson’s performances against Arizona State in 2014, USC in 2014, and NC State 2015 completely marred his legacy in a way I’ve never witnessed 3 games being so dramatically negative for a quarterback who generally played very well in most other games.
Some might not shed any tears for Golson who clearly didn’t endear himself to fans by losing a year to academic ineligibility, had trouble being locked in all the time, was certainly a frustrating player due in large part to his enormous talent, and made the choice to transfer to Florida State after spending the 2015 spring in South Bend.
Most of the time I find myself remembering plays like this against Purdue in Golson’s first home start:
The early days.
Golson looked like he’d be untouchable in the pocket, like he’d be a devastating mobile threat, and a quarterback who had fantastic natural throwing accuracy, especially outside the pocket. We were supposed to see 4 full seasons of this and it never blossomed that way. Quite often, college football players get reduced to “what if” scenarios and Golson is no exception.
I always had the feeling that if Golson could stick around for a long time his skill-set and talent would guarantee he’d eventually figure out his fumbling, grow into a leader, and be a Heisman-level quarterback. But college football doesn’t work that way–you only get 4 years, your time is short, you can’t throw whole seasons away due to academics, and the microscope is so intense that even one turnover can turn a career for the worse. It leads to a lot of tragic tails for football careers.
Everett Golson had plenty of memorable moments for Notre Dame but ultimately left behind a career that was unfortunate in its inability to meet his initial promise. But, I still fondly remember the good times and special plays.
It sounds like Golson is the equivalent of that girlfriend in high school that looked incredible and was a lot of fun. When nostalgia hits, you look back on how great the good times were. You don’t really remember the time she was flirting with that jerk from biology or how the drama nearly killed you…or even how much time and effort it took to clean her throw-up from your car. The third time it happened.
First impressions, I really miss seeing Golson in an Irish uniform and feel bad for how his career turned out. That said…thinking more about it, I am mostly glad we didn’t see more of him. High ceiling, but very low floor.
You fondly remember it, I fumbly remember it.
Also, to me the “interception rate” per pass is a bit misleading. Golson threw 20 total picks playing 25 games (in quite a few of those games splitting time too). Add that into the 23 fumbles and that’s scary for a QB. I know he’s a favorite of yours but that is how it looks very crippling where you have a QB throwing an INT per game PLUS dropping the ball once a game too and making it a toss up.
That said, in some parallel universe Golson figuring it all out as a senior staying at Notre Dame in 2015 and…man that’s a playoff team with all those weapons on offense and peak Jaylon Smith on defense.
I don’t think per pass is misleading as much as it highlights quarterbacks throw the ball more in modern times and no one at Notre Dame has ever had an elite INT rate over a long period for their whole career. Baker Mayfield threw 30 picks in 49 games but that’s over 1,497 passes. A 2.0% INT rate is super elite with this production. Ian Book had 7 picks in 9 starts this past year, just under 1 per game is totally fine.
The interception rate kind of is what it is, IMO.
No denying lost fumbles in conjunction hurts a lot.
No one also remembers Baker Mayfield interceptions because of the offsets with the touchdowns he ran and threw for, so having an incredibly favorable TD to INT rate helps a lot to forget the % of passes picked off.
Book had 10 starts counting Clemson last year, 7 INT. 3 total fumbles, 2 lost. Add it up that’s 9 turnovers in 10 games last season. Golson, comparably had 33 turnovers (13 fumbles + 20 picks) in 25 games. Book was much more responsible with the ball though I know you weren’t saying any different.
I do see your point though that Golson’s INT rate was similar to his successor in Kizer, so it’s not like that was a huge issue. He was about normal there, it was putting the ball on the ground that was so harmful.
He was just so careless moving/running with the football. It seemed he almost had an “attitude” about it. He could be so fun to watch and so maddening at the same time.
I honestly think his size and extremely skinny arms were the biggest culprit to him fumbling more than usual. That, and his larger hands (for his size) gave him a false sense of security while holding the ball.
Probably poor coaching, in this regard anyways, when he was younger.
9 starts, right? Wimbush had Michigan, Ball State, Vanderbilt, and Florida State.
Yeah, you’re right. Book started 9 games + played a bit of a 10th vs Vandy which Wimbush didn’t finish, which was my discrepancy and mistake.
Never forget: he plays piano.
Losing 2013 was pretty devastating for him, IMO. He wasn’t even on campus, if I remember correctly. Almost impossible to avoid a regression in that scenario. Too bad.
That Pittsburgh highlight you posted was an amazing play. The thing about him was that he never even looked flustered when guys were bearing down on him. He was so calm back there…I’ll just fake left, roll right and hit a deep pass. NP
The consecutive completion video also highlights “what could have been” with Corey Robinson.
I’ll never forgive Kelly for that outrageously stupid “rode the bus” statement. Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard by a coach, ever. His relationship with Golson started to deteriorate from that point on, despite Golson’s ability to win.
If you look at the clip in the favorite pass piece by Eric, when Golson threw that amazing pass to Koyack to win the 2014 Stanford game, the bench went wild and many of the coaches embraced him and congratulated him. Kelly was nowhere to be seen.
Golson made some mistakes early on in that ASU game, especially the early fumble, but both first half INT’s were off of tipped balls when each tackle completely whiffed, allowing the DE to get up and deflect the ball, each of which went directly into the hands of a DB. One or both of those were pick 6s.
In the second half of that ASU game, EG led an amazing comeback, I think getting within a touchdown in the 4th quarter. We missed an easy field goal by Bryndza. Then EG threw a perfect pass to Robinson, a crowd favorite, hit him squarely in the numbers, but Robinson muffed the ball and deflected it into the arms of a DB who ran it back for a pick six from at least 50 yards away. After that ASU went wild and pulled away. After the game, Kelly said it was all on EG.Total dickhead statement. From that point on Golson was a different player and I believe lost respect for Kelly and also lost his confidence.
In the qb competition the next Spring, Kelly decided Zaire was better. Nice guy but a bust as an ND qb, by the way. So EG went to FSU, most of our fans hated him for it, but I didn’t blame him. He went 6-0 behind one of the worst ever FSU Olines. Not long after that Fisher starting playing for the future after giving up on the season and benched Golson for the next year Seminole starter.
I’ve watched every single Irish QB since the early 1950’s. Golson could have been one of the best ever had Kelly not been an idiot. I think Kelly has done great things for ND football, but developing QBs isn’t one of them. I just hope he doesn’t f-up Book.
I saw EG’s flaws, but I also saw spectacular. Don’t forget that folks.
I’d argue that the ASU debacle was largely a coaching failure. They clearly schemed our offense out, with their whole planning of sending pressure while having DEs ready to bat down passes, and we wouldn’t or couldn’t adjust to mitigate that. There’s a reason Mike Denbrock was jettisoned after the 2016 season.
I don’t disagree that it was a coaching failure, Publius
Kiwi coming in hot!
I’ve never liked judging interactions and how we perceive emotion from players on the field. As a result, I don’t like judging coaches too much on it, either. Does it seem like Kelly should’ve gone easier on Golson and coddled him more? Maybe, although I’m not sure that gets the best out of him at the end of the day. What he tried didn’t work but that’s not to say something else would’ve worked. Maybe it was never in the cards for Golson to become an elite quarterback because he had some significant personality flaws, which as President of the EG Fan Club, I’d admit was the case.
I do feel like they put a little too much on Golson’s plate for 2014, but he was clearly so talented and always practiced well. Also, he didn’t get much help from the offense which consisted of Fuller and a bunch of average running backs, receivers, and tight ends. I’m not sure giving McDaniel more carries when he couldn’t average 4 per carry is a good idea.
Also, Kelly didn’t anoint Zaire in the spring of 2015, right? That seemed like a legit competition with Golson leading but Zaire doing well, too.
Kelly also had this weird habit as the 2014 season wore on of not giving Golson a series off occasionally when it appeared that he could have used a break (Northwestern comes to mind, but there were others). My recollection is that Zaire played basically not at all until the SC game. I don’t know if this was meant to benefit or punish Golson, but I always felt like running him out there over and over again didn’t do him any favors.
Mostly, I look back and see a head coach whose brain was slowly oozing out of his damn ear starting in 2013 and culminating in calamitous decisions — like retaining BVG and throwing away snaps & full series on Zaire that could have gone to a clearly-superior Kizer — in 2016 before he finally hit the reset button on his brain as well as his tenure and was reborn hard.
“I’ll never forgive Kelly for that outrageously stupid “rode the bus” statement. Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard by a coach, ever. His relationship with Golson started to deteriorate from that point on, despite Golson’s ability to win. ”
By the summer 2014 if I’m Kelly, I’m going to publicly try to downplay the part-time (but certainly exciting) QB from 2012 that was immature and kicked out of school in 2013 too. If anything it was Golson’s action that caused the fracture in the relationship. I don’t fault the coach there at all for the sentiment expressed even if it’s a bit much. I didn’t really carry such anger to that line though or hold onto it.
Also, really, I think Golson was coddled compared to the way Kelly treated Rees. That was definitely too far with how he was dealt with.
Either way, I think we can all agree that the current alignment (Kelly invested but more CEO role, Long being involved heavily) is much better and more stable for the QB room. I don’t think Wimbush or Book would have survived the early Kelly ND years.
Great piece. Kind of surprised there wasn’t much mention of the garbage offensive coaching that highlighted the Golson years, or for that matter, the propensity of every QB under Kelly do regress over time.
Like Kizer regressing from skipping balls in spring practice to 2nd round NFL pick?
Had he stuck around for another season, Kizer might have regressed all the way to round 1!
Of course, given how he was handled in 2016, I can’t exactly blame him for not putting much faith in Kelly to develop him further.
Definitely. Crazy to think Kizer would get benched, but I guess Kelly was so frustrated that was the only button to push. (Should have pushed the fire d-coordinator one a lot sooner).
The Kelly and QB narrative is one that annoys me though, it overlooks or deflects credit when a 3* like Ian Book sets a school completion % record but kills BK for guys like Wimbush that can’t be great QB’s. Tough line of work! @Maybe they need to bring back the QB guru like Weis@
I’m not sure it’s so much about deflecting credit as expressing frustration about the remarkable lack of stability at the position since Kelly arrived. There have been bad beats involved, like Crist washing out and Golson’s lost season. But after close to a decade on the job without a continuous 2-to-3-year starter at QB, the only constant in the equation is Kelly himself.
Fingers crossed on Book continuing to thrive, because stability at quarterback is one of the most reliable indicators for success at the college level.
I’m a huge fan of EG and have been since day 1. Surprised by how many people here are not a fan of his. I feel like fans aren’t looking at his downfall necessarily in the right light. Starting with Navy in 2014 he literally had to be perfect on every drive because our defense was historically bad. Of course you’re going to press and make mistakes knowing and I’m sure being reminded by Kelly and coaches that you have to score a touchdown on every drive to even ensure we have a chance.
Someone pointed out at the ASU game Golson is leading a comeback for the ages and Corey Robinson lets a ball go through his hands for a pick six. How does winning that game change 2014 and Golson going into 2015? Not saying he didn’t make mistakes earlier in that game, but Golson was a gamer which he proved time and time again. Eric points out the flag against FSU, that play isn’t even possible without Golson scrambling on the 4th and long to make a helluva play to Robinson.
As for missing the 2013 year, yes that was clearly a mistake. This is pure conjecture, but I will also say that someone in the ND administration had a bullseye on the football program’s head after 2012. You had Golson in the spring of 2013 and then the Frozen Five in 2014. That whole time period was just very off and had a very weird aura of people wanting to show other people at ND who was in charge.
I blame Bill Kirk.
Always the correct answer.
On a less flippant note, I had one personal run-in with him in his official capacity on campus. I’ll skip all the details, but suffice it to say that based on my experience I’ve found every story about him plausible.
I can speak to good personal interactions with Kirk, and that in my experience he’s a good man.