After a long offseason of endless speculation and rumors about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback situation, head coach Brian Kelly finally has his man in redshirt freshman Everett Golson (via the Chicago Tribune's Brian Hamilton).
Helping spur that decision was the team's decision to suspend incumbent starter Tommy Rees for the season opener against Navy on Sept. 1 after being arrested in May.
Regardless of suspensions, Golson earned the starting job by navigating his way on a path no one would call easy.
Golson came into his college career as a mid-tier prospect, ranked as a 3-star recruit by Rivals and a 4-star by ESPN Scouts Inc.
And with incumbents Rees and Andrew Hendrix returning from last season's squad and highly touted true freshman Gunner Kiel finally picking Notre Dame after an arduous process, Golson looked to be an odd man out.
But a fantastic performance in the Blue-Gold Scrimmage, Golson announced his presence in a big way. The 6'0" dual-threat completed 11-of-15 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns while scampering for an additional 25 yards on the ground.
From that moment a groundswell movement to get Golson the nod started among Irish fans.
Though fans got their wish, there isn't much tape on the redshirt freshman. With that in mind, here's a look at what Golson will bring to the table this season.
Elite Scrambling Ability
One of the biggest questions going into the season for the Fighting Irish is whether the offensive line will be able to protect the quarterback.
With a dynamic runner like Golson starting at quarterback, he should more than once this season be able to save the Notre Dame line from getting chewed out.
Look for the Notre Dame offense to feature more bootlegs than in the past two seasons, to mask the offensive line woes and to allow Golson to provide his biggest strength: improvisation.
When a play breaks down, the freshman builds it back up with his feet and creates huge plays out of havoc.
With this offensive line, that makes him a perfect fit.
Offensive Versatility
If Kelly wanted to run a more standard, pro-style offense this season, he would not have gone with Golson.
While the 6-footer is certainly a more-than-apt thrower and can stick in the pocket as well as any other Irish quarterback, his biggest strength is how wide he opens the Notre Dame playbook.
As Golson gets acclimated to big-time college speed, look for a ton of read-option and run-pass-option plays early in the season. With Cierre Wood manning the Irish backfield, the two most important players for the team's offense should thrive together.
In his two years in South Bend, Wood has rushed for an average of 5.1 yards per carry, but most of those were your run-of-the-mill stretch plays, dives, etc.
The versatility Golson brings to the table will likely leave defenses confounded about what's happening next.
And that can only mean good things for the team's bowl hopes.
Flat-Out Passing Ability
Most of the skepticism surrounding Golson when he came out of high school came from his diminutive stature.
Listed at just 6'1" and 185 pounds, Golson looks even smaller on the field.
But this isn't the NFL. In college football there is a long history of small quarterbacks succeeding, and the Irish starter has all the skills to add his name to the list.
Playing in a pass-dominant system in high school, Golson put up a whopping 3,529 yards and 47 touchdowns through the air against just three interceptions as a junior in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Though an injury prohibited him from topping his gaudy numbers as a senior, Golson still managed to come back for the South Carolina 3A state playoffs for his school.
If Golson can continue his history of succeeding at every level, there's no reason to think Kelly will regret his decision one iota.
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