What we know is that Everett Golson is leaving Notre Dame with one year of football eligibility left in his pocket. What we do not know is on what campus Golson will choose to drop off that eligibility paperwork.
Golson, a 6-1, 200 pound senior, will graduate from Notre Dame this spring, but he has one year of eligibility remaining and can transfer as a graduate student, enroll in graduate classes somewhere and be instantly eligible to play. The fact that he is not playing that last season at Notre Dame speaks volumes about his often tumultuous relationship with the school. The final straw was when he was pulled as a starter near the end of the last season and his backup, Malik Zaire, started in the Music City Bowl, beat LSU and won the bowl game MVP.
Where Will Everett Golson Go?
Golson threw for 3,445 yards and 29 touchdowns for the Irish last season, but he also threw 14 interceptions and lost eight of 12 fumbles. He was also sacked 27 times. He has skills, but does he have enough to entice some of the tough-to-please coaches in the country.
He is a native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, so the SEC rumor mill is on overdrive. South Carolina would be a potential landing spot. The Gamecocks do not have an obvious heir apparent to the graduated Dylan Thompson. The challenge in Columbia would be South Carolina is in the midst of a major offensive overhaul, having lost seven of 11 starters from last year. Would Golson want to spend his time on the inevitable roller coaster of a rebuilding offense for the sake of playing close to home for Steve Spurrier?
With his Notre Dame backup having beaten LSU in the Music City Bowl, it would be logical to ask if Baton Rouge could be his next home. The Tigers will enter their second straight season with two quarterbacks, both of whom have failed to definitively grab the reigns of the offense. Brandon Harris and Anthony Jennings have shown flashes of decent enough competence, but in the highly competitive SEC West, is that good enough? LSU returns 5 starters on offense, including running back Leonard Fournette. Throw Golson in the mix and there could be some bite back in the Bayou Bengals.
There is, however, a not-insignificant stumbling block to Golson going to a SEC team. The conference has a relatively obscure transfer rule that is primarily aimed at these late-in-your-career transfers. There’s a bylaw that says if a player transfers with less than two year of eligibility remaining, the athlete must have been in good standing with his previous school for the entirety of his time there. After leading Notre Dame to the BCS championship game as a redshirt freshman in 2012, Golson was suspended for the 2013 season when he was accused of academic improprieties. If an SEC team wants him, they will have to appeal that rule to the conference’s governing board. And let’s remember, this is the SEC where they eat their own young for a late morning snack. It is likely that if one team in the conference wants Golson, the others will be there waving the bylaws like a flag on the Fourth of July.
That leaves Florida State as one of the more viable potential options. The Seminoles do have an opening at quarterback with the departure of Jameis Winston and head coach Jimbo Fisher has had some success with college quarterbacks in his mentoring career. Even though FSU has to replace six starters on offense, they are likely to be the front runner for the ACC title, and thus a possible spot in the four-team playoff.
Golson, for his part, has not put a timeline on his decision, but he will need to enroll somewhere by mid-summer in order to be academically and athletically ready for the upcoming season.
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