Everett Golson Officially Named Notre Dame Starting QB

Everett Golson Officially Named Notre Dame's Starting Quarterback

After much anticipation from fans, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly announced Thursday that sophomore quarterback Everett Golson will officially open the season under center for the Irish. The second-year signal caller, who was a four-star recruit according to Scout.com, has yet to throw a collegiate pass, but will bring needed athleticism to Kelly's new-look offense.

Though he beat out junior Andrew Hendrix and freshman Gunner Kiel for the right to kick off the season against Navy in Dublin, it's hard to imagine that an inexperienced player like Golson will have a very long leash in his first career game. Despite facing annual uncertainty with his quarterbacks since taking over in South Bend, Kelly told the Chicago Tribune's Brian Hamilton that he's fully planning on having Golson on the field for the entire game.

#NotreDame HC Brian Kelly: "Everett is the starter. If things go the way were planning it, he'd play the whole game."

— Brian Hamilton (@ChiTribHamilton) August 23, 2012

#NotreDame HC Brian Kelly: "It was a tough decision, but Everett clearly won the starting job."

— Brian Hamilton (@ChiTribHamilton) August 23, 2012

Aside from standing a mere 6-feet and 170 lbs, tossing Golson into the mix right away shows exactly what Notre Dame wants to accomplish this season, and it has everything to do with player development. Injuries are decimating Kelly's roster before his eyes as camp draws to a close, and Golson is simply the best weapon the third-year coach can send out at the position right now. With the Irish set to face a number of top defensive units this year, it will be interesting to see if the inexperienced youngster will be up to the challenge.

Stay with this StoryStream for more coverage of Notre Dame's quarterback battle, and check out One Foot Down for more Notre Dame football coverage. Also be sure to visit SB Nation's NCAA football hub for more news from around the country.

Everett Golson To Be 2012 Notre Dame Starting QB, According To Report

Sophomore Everett Golson has topped junior Andrew Hendrix and will be named Notre Dame's starting quarterback for the 2012 season, the Chicago Tribune reports. The pair had been battling since spring ball began, with 2011 starter Tommy Rees helping to excuse himself by earning a suspension for a May arrest.

As for the quarterback competition, Kelly had floated the idea of the two passers splitting snaps against Navy. Other potential contenders included Dayne Crist, who transferred to Kansas, and Gunner Kiel, who's a true freshman.

Golson was a Rivals three-star recruit out of South Carolina with plenty of SEC and Big Ten offers. He ran the scout team offense as a freshman and looked the part of starter in the Irish spring game, for whatever spring games are worth.

Hendrix made appearances in five games last year, completing 48.6 percent of his throws for a 103.29 passer rating and 6.7 yards per attempt.

From Notre Dame blog One Foot Down's analysis of the position battle entering fall camp:

I just don't think the staff fully trusts Hendrix when he's still such a raw passer, and despite not having thrown a pass in a real game yet, I believe Golson has a big advantage with his natural throwing skills.

However, I think we have to prepare ourselves for Hendrix to start, and I don't think it would necessarily be bad thing especially if it means the team is going to be running the ball a lot. At least for the opener in Ireland (and perhaps against Purdue) starting Hendrix gives you the ability to run the ball a lot from the QB position, and there'd probably be plenty of opportunities to get Golson's feet wet at the same time.

So I guess it shouldn't shock any of us if they both play, but I've felt this is going to be Golson's time for a while now. Rees' suspension just reinforces that feeling.

Golson will figure out the pre-snap stuff and get everyone set up correctly. That issue was largely overblown from the hectic and confusing substitutions from the spring game. Golson's main issue was always becoming more of a leader off the field and I believe he'll make big strides during the upcoming fall camp.

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Notre Dame Quarterbacks Could Take Turns Against Navy

Brian Kelly is known as a quarterback guru. Notre Dame does not currently have an eligible quarterback that makes quarterback gurus look good, however, and so the Irish may play alternating quarterbacks in their season opener against Navy.

Kelly told reporters on Wednesday that Everett Golson and Andrew Hendrix — who combined to throw 37 passes in 2011, with Hendrix throwing 37 passes and Golson throwing zero — could alternate against the Midshipmen.

"I've played two quarterbacks before and I've had great success with that," he said. "We'll know if we get to game time that both of them have to play. Obviously they both have ability to be starters, so I can't say that I wouldn't be comfortable.

Kelly also said "I'd prefer one quarterback," but the one he did have, Tommy Rees, is suspended for that season opener, and the quarterback of the future, Gunner Kiel, is the third-stringer.

So, yes, in case you were wondering, Notre Dame could lose a season-opening game against Navy in Ireland because it was forced to alternate inexperienced quarterbacks after the incumbent starter allegedly assaulted a police officer. Good times!

For more updates on the Rees situation and Notre Dame's quarterbackery, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all news and information regarding the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, head on over to One Foot Down.

Notre Dame Football Back To Work, Still Without A Starting QB

Notre Dame's set to enter Year 3 of the Brian Kelly era, and hopefully for Irish fans, do so without generating too many more ulcers. Changing the field's turf and making the helmets all sparkly are already adding enough stress to the elder Notre Dame fan's daily life.

So, to the quarterback competition! It's indeed still going strong, but at least is down to three names instead of four:

Sophomore Everett Golson, freshman Gunner Kiel and junior Andrew Hendrix are all in the mix. Kelly said Friday that all four will get plenty of work during the next few weeks. He says he has "an idea'' of who might start but it will take time.

What about Tommy Rees, you might say, he of the 19 turnovers last year? Being suspended for the season opener due to an arrest tends to knock one of the starting quarterback competition.

Golson appears to be the favorite among both fans and media, with his likeness even taking the starting job in NCAA 13.

Hendrix got some experience last year, flashing some dual-threat speed in five games, but was inaccurate (48 percent completion, two interceptions in 37 throws) in his small sample size. Golson was the star of this year's spring game, throwing two touchdowns and avoiding interceptions -- Hendrix and Rees each turned the ball over.

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For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down.

Notre Dame Suspends Tommy Rees For Season Opener

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will open the 2012 football season in Ireland on Sept. 1, playing against the Navy Midshipmen. Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees will not be joining them.

The Associated Press reports that Rees and linebacker Carlo Calabrese have been suspended for the season opener. The two players were arrested following an off-campus party in early May. Rees was accused of assaulting a police officer and both players have been charged with misdemeanors. Rees pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to community service and probation.

Coach Brian Kelly announced the suspensions on Tuesday, saying that the players made "poor decisions." Neither suspended player will take the trip to Ireland with the rest of the Notre Dame team.

For more updates on the Tommy Rees situation, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all news and information regarding the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, head on over to One Foot Down.

2012 Notre Dame Football Preview: Hot Sports Opinions!

Just because somebody says Notre Dame is underrated and faces a tough schedule doesn't mean it can't occasionally be true, right?

Related: Notre Dame's complete 2012 statistical profile, including projected starters, year-to-year trends, and rankings galore.

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Tommy Rees Arrested: Notre Dame's Depth Chart Likely Clears Up A Little

By no means do we want to make light of a young man facing possible jail time for a mistake, but the arrest of Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Tommy Rees impacts an entire major college football program. So there are football implications to discuss.

Rees started for the Irish last year, putting up 2,871 yards and 20 touchdowns, completing a healthy 65 percent of his passes. However, he's best known for his red zone turnovers. With 14 interceptions and five lost fumbles, Notre Dame's offense just couldn't get out of its own way with Rees at the controls.

Dayne Crist has transferred to Kansas, and freshman Gunner Kiel looks likely to redshirt. That leaves junior Andrew Hendrix and redshirt freshman Everett Golson as the potential starters, assuming Rees' felony arrest damages his chances beyond repair. That's entirely reasonable, as he'll almost certainly be suspended from game time at the least.

Kelly doesn't plan to announce a starter until summer. He's down to what appears to be two options, if Kiel redshirts.

Hendrix got some experience last year, flashing some dual-threat speed in five games, but was inaccurate (48 percent completion, two interceptions in 37 throws) in his small sample size. Golson was the star of this year's spring game, throwing two touchdowns and avoiding interceptions -- Hendrix and Rees each turned the ball over.

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For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down, plus SB Nation Indiana.

2012 Notre Dame Spring Game Results: Everett Golson Puts Pressure On QB Tommy Rees

After an extended quarterback controversy in the regular season last year, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are hoping for more certainty from the signal-callers this year. Tommy Rees, who will be a junior in the fall, grabbed hold of the job, but after a lackluster spring performance — and a stellar showing from his backup, rising sophomore Everett Golson — there may again be a controversy.

Golson was 11-15 for 120 yards and two touchdowns in his time under center in the Irish's 83rd annual Blue-Gold game, easily outperforming Rees, who completed just seven of his 14 attempts for 84 yards, and he was intercepted once. Andrew Hendrix, another candidate for the position, threw an interception.

Many observers may only be curious about the spring game's results to evaluate true freshman quarterback Gunner Kiel's performance. Kiel, if you remember, spurned LSU to attend Notre Dame -- a slight Les Miles won't soon be forgetting. Kiel took all the snaps in the running-clock, 16-minutes second half, and went 5-9 for 57 yards and an interception.

For everything you need to know about Notre Dame football, check out One Foot Down.

Spring Football 2012: Notre Dame, Iowa, Auburn Among Teams In Transition

Starting up 2012 spring football Wednesday: Auburn Tigers, Colorado St. Rams, Houston Cougars, Iowa Hawkeyes, Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, South Florida Bulls and Wyoming Cowboys. Thus. we've had 18 schools start up spring football in the last two days. It's almost like it's actually spring now!

This is a mighty transition-y group, with new head coaches (Jim McElwain at CSU and Tony Levine at Houston), new coordinators (two each at Auburn and Iowa, plus a new OC at Notre Dame), a hot seat (Joker Philips at Kentucky), realignment rumors (Louisville to the Big 12 -- any minute now!), and even Skip Holtz showing up in coaching carousel rumors. Wyoming, you're rock solid.

Notre Dame also has the task of finding a full-time quarterback, with Kansas transfer Dayne Crist no longer in the picture. Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix split duties last year, but top freshman quarterback Gunner Kiel and Everett Golson could challenge for the starting gig. And don't you dare call Brian Kelly anything but a one-man man:

Asked if there was a chance he would use two quarterbacks instead of one this season, Kelly said he would prefer to have one guy who he can give a big hug to when he comes off the field after a touchdown.

Things are different (but not all that different) for the first time in a long time at Iowa, where longtime assistant Phil Parker takes over for the retired Norm Parker as defensive coordinator, and Ken O'Keefe-like coordinator Greg Davis fills in for Ken O'Keefe. Kirk Ferentz doesn't mind the remodeling:

"We really needed to just take things apart here a little bit and look a little closer,'' Ferentz said. "It's given us a chance really to go back and examine everything we're doing on both sides of the football.''

Auburn, meanwhile, replaces new Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn with Scot Loeffler from the Temple Owls. Loeffler's two years as Florida's quarterbacks coach have been touted to the heavens as a sure sign that he's SEC-ready. The Tigers' defense gets a boost by replacing Ted Roof with former Atlanta Falcons coordinator Brian VanGorder, who's definitely SEC-ready -- from 2001 to 2004, he led the Georgia Bulldogs to perhaps the best streak of defenses in their history.