'11 SC QB Everett Golson (FSU transfer)

[sportallyr]

I wish EG all the success in the world. I just don't see this being a bad thing for this team. With Golson I saw a loner out there last year. From sitting alone on the sidelines to walking away from his head coach when he is trying to talk to him. Although he is talented ,I never saw that swagger needed to be a leader. I saw a team rally around a young inexperienced QB in a bowl game and a young QB respond by understanding his role out there. Last year this offense was crying for a leader and got it in Malik Zaire. He has the leadership, confidence and swagger to move this team forward in a very positive way. I believe Zaire knows he is just one of 11 guys on that field. Let's not sell the other 10 guys short gentleman, they want to be a team that wins and I believe that's exactly what they will do this year.

This!

 

[50milesSE ND]

I wish EG all the success in the world. I just don't see this being a bad thing for this team. With Golson I saw a loner out there last year. From sitting alone on the sidelines to walking away from his head coach when he is trying to talk to him. Although he is talented ,I never saw that swagger needed to be a leader. I saw a team rally around a young inexperienced QB in a bowl game and a young QB respond by understanding his role out there. Last year this offense was crying for a leader and got it in Malik Zaire. He has the leadership, confidence and swagger to move this team forward in a very positive way. I believe Zaire knows he is just one of 11 guys on that field. Let's not sell the other 10 guys short gentleman, they want to be a team that wins and I believe that's exactly what they will do this year.

^ well said

 

[NDPhilly]

It's crazy seeing how much SEC fans want a kid who couldn't beat out Zaire this spring.

 

[PANDFAN]

Source Confirms South Carolina Interested in Home State Hero Everett Golson

 

[WestCoast]

Hearing Florida as a likely landing spot

I can't see Golson with a mullet or wearing jorts.... sorry johnnycando...

 

[SoIll]

It's crazy seeing how much SEC fans want a kid who couldn't beat out Zaire this spring.

from many indications, he was definitely on his way of doing so

 

[phgreek]

A) MZ won't have as many come from behind victories on his resume. With MZ at quarterback, expect a more dominating offensive performance out of the chute.

B) This spring was fairly fubar to begin with, DeShone Kizer, understandably, was not in a position to take much more than was put on his plate.

C) EG had to meet the terms of his scholarship, which means he had to participate in team activities until he graduated. Otherwise he would have lost his scholarship, and possibly not graduated. If he played it any different, it would have been to his detriment. And I would bet that this was something in the works for a while, and really didn't catch anyone by surprise.

D) Especially if you noticed the players reactions to the quarterbacks in the Spring Game. They all knew it was way up in the air.

E) I want someone to name a situation where a true freshman walked in as a starting quarterback and things went smoothly. Conversely, the idea of Malik being the same as a typical one game starter is false. In addition with the o-line, and skill player development, especially CJ Prosise, Malik may get some multi-dimensional support that previous quarterbacks may not have had!

The bolded is the driver...another issue is, EG was damaged goods after '14, so to speak, and the reports this spring, and somewhat what he did in the spring game did a ton to rehab his reputation. So it was both required, aaand beneficial to EG to do it exactly how he did it. I wouldn't doubt Kelly was supportive even if he had an inkling...an unhappy, trapped EG does no one any good. A happy, productive EG somewhere else is not a ding on ND for recruiting, opens a scholly, and ND gets another graduate to its credit, and side-steps yet ANOTHER freaking QB controversy. Could it be a better scenario where EG and MZ were happy with sharing the role...sure...but I didn't expect them to be....short of that, this was done well.

 

[johnnycando]

I can't see Golson with a mullet or wearing jorts.... sorry johnnycando...

Ouch bruh.

I didn't expect the kidney shot from you man.

Bout to throw this sofa sleeper off my front porch after I finish this beer I'm
so mad.

 

[phgreek]

Ouch bruh.

I didn't expect the kidney shot from you man.

Bout to throw this sofa sleeper off my front porch after I finish this beer I'm
so mad.

...did that once, the comotion scared the hounds from under the porch...lost my prized coon hound when the sleeper crashed down on him...was awful.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Source just told me Everett Golson will visit South Carolina on Monday and Georgia on Tuesday next week. <a href="https://twitter.com/jcshurburtt">@jcshurburtt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Mansell247">@Mansell247</a></p>— Clint Brewster (@clintbrew247) <a href="https://twitter.com/clintbrew247/status/596715180496658432">May 8, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Irish YJ]

UF, UGA, USCarolina....
My money he goes to the one with the most dire QB situation. None of the 3 are in great shape. I would think UF probably is not the worst with Treon Harris and Jeff Driscol in the 2 deep. The others have lackluster QB talent from head to toe.

If I'm EG, I'd choose either UGA (best surrounding talent), or USC (home).

 

[Wild Bill]

UF, UGA, USCarolina....
My money he goes to the one with the most dire QB situation. None of the 3 are in great shape. I would think UF probably is not the worst with Treon Harris and Jeff Driscol in the 2 deep. The others have lackluster QB talent from head to toe.

If I'm EG, I'd choose either UGA (best surrounding talent), or USC (home).

I think Will Grier is Florida's projected starter.

 

[Ndaccountant]

UF, UGA, USCarolina....
My money he goes to the one with the most dire QB situation. None of the 3 are in great shape. I would think UF probably is not the worst with Treon Harris and Jeff Driscol in the 2 deep. The others have lackluster QB talent from head to toe.

If I'm EG, I'd choose either UGA (best surrounding talent), or USC (home).

I'd go UGA.....most QB friendly place of the three, including schedule.

 

[BobbyMac]

I think the SEC should release a statement stating that all their rules, regulations, SOP's and bylaws are peacock feathers... strictly ornamental and serve no real function.

They need to get out in front of Everett's decision.

If they printed even one copy, I hope the Sierra Club gets wind of this and protests the SEC for needlessly killing trees.

.

 

[Irish YJ]

I'd go UGA.....most QB friendly place of the three, including schedule.

I'd lean there too. QB friendly, great running game, good D.
Would hate to see EG beat UTenn

 

[IrishLion]

I think he could turn LSU into an outstanding football team if he gave them a look, but I guess there's no interest. They've got all of the weapons, just no QB.

Overall, UGA definitely feels like the lesser of all evils. Richt actually punishes the guys that get in trouble.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Everest Ghoulston, we barely knew ye.

 

[Irish YJ]

I think he could turn LSU into an outstanding football team if he gave them a look, but I guess there's no interest. They've got all of the weapons, just no QB.

Overall, UGA definitely feels like the lesser of all evils. Richt actually punishes the guys that get in trouble.

LSU was my first guess

 

[LoveThee]

I can't help but wonder what could have been had he not been suspended.

Best of luck Everett.

 

[ulukinatme]

I can't help but wonder what could have been had he not been suspended.

Best of luck Everett.

Probably another 7-5 or 8-4 regular season since the defense collapsed last year too. Golson turned the ball over more this year than Reesus did in 2013.

Maybe Golson beats Pitt or Stanford, but he probably loses a few with turnovers too like Michigan State or ASU.

 

[NDohio]

I think the SEC should release a statement stating that all their rules, regulations, SOP's and bylaws are peacock feathers... strictly ornamental and serve no real function.

They need to get out in front of Everett's decision.

If they printed even one copy, I hope the Sierra Club gets wind of this and protests the SEC for needlessly killing trees.

.

I have a friend that works in the USC sports department. They are not very confident that the SEC is going to let EG in. It seems odd to me that he says that yet all the speculation revolves around SEC schools, but that's what he told me today.

Interested in how this plays out.

 

[phork]

Harbaugh looking at Golson | mgoblog

 

[T Town Tommy]

I have a friend that works in the USC sports department. They are not very confident that the SEC is going to let EG in. It seems odd to me that he says that yet all the speculation revolves around SEC schools, but that's what he told me today.

Interested in how this plays out.

Would have to apply for a waiver in order to do it. Can't see Slive or his soon to be replacement granting that however.

A lot of conflicting reports coming out of S Car. Some say they are interested and that they have put out feelers to the SEC front office for a potential waiver. Others say the OBC is all in with Mitch at QB. Ga's QB situation is still unsettled and LSU and QB doesn't seem to go together very well with Les.

In the end, I don't think he gets a waiver and goes somewhere other than the SEC. The UM rumors are picking up but don't know if there is any mutual interest however.

 

[johnnycando]

Everest Ghoulston, we barely knew ye.

We heard of ye fumbles, however, over tears and pints.

 

[NDRock]

Surprised Tennessee hasn't been mentioned. Don't think they've got anybody great coming back at QB and Butch Jones has experience coaching ex-Brian Kelly QBs.

 

[johnnycando]

Surprised Tennessee hasn't been mentioned. Don't think they've got anybody great coming back at QB and Butch Jones has experience coaching ex-Brian Kelly QBs.

Which would amount to, "here's how you hold the pigskin when you aren't gonna throw that dad gum thing, otherwise just throw the dad dern thing like Coach Kelly taught you to do."

 

[stlnd01]

I think he could turn LSU into an outstanding football team if he gave them a look, but I guess there's no interest. They've got all of the weapons, just no QB.

I read in one of the Golson speculation stories that LSU has eight QBs on its roster. None in EG's league though.

 

[kmoose]

i guess he could have told the staff he didn't want to participate because he planned on transferring. this could have let the staff move and get Kizer more reps
Or maybe he only made up his mind after the spring game. We won't know til later really

My guess is that he made his mind up after Kelly made it clear to him and Zaire that Zaire would be the starter.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

II's Pete Sampson just published an article about Golson's departure":

Everett Golson wanted to get away from Brian Kelly.

Reduce the quarterback’s decision to bolt, announcing it the moment he could knowingly flee with a degree, and that’s what Golson did. He made the hard decision to leave teammates with College Football Playoff designs. He made the easy decision to find a new head coach that can push him in a different direction with a different force.

Kelly arrived here billed as a quarterback savant, a head coach who could MacGyver the position with castoffs. It didn’t matter who started at Cincinnati, the program won. The surgically repaired Ben Mauk, the immobile Tony Pike, the freshman Zach Collaros. The names changed. The wins didn’t.

The names have changed here too. But it’s been a five-year dramatic turnover.

Notre Dame’s roster is worse without Golson, but it can also improve if Kelly takes proper stock of the situation. Putting his entire offense on Golson worked in theory but failed in practice. Dayne Crist didn’t have the mentality to take Kelly either. Tommy Rees did, only because he was a football junkie who could handle Kelly’s temper and his playbook.

Kelly believes his system must be driven by the quarterback. It’s time to put another position at the wheel. And with this offensive line back with this running game and Malik Zaire’s skill set, it’s time. It’s time for Kelly to put away that route tree.

Evolve.

Because if Notre Dame wants to make a serious run at the real postseason, a pass-first spread with a run-first quarterback won’t work.

“We, of course, have approached our preparations for the upcoming season with this possibility in mind,” Kelly said in a statement. “The emergence of Malik Zaire, based on his performance in the Music City Bowl win over LSU, and throughout spring practice, has given our staff supreme confidence that he can lead our team to great success in 2015.”

If Kelly points Zaire in the right direction, building game plans around a power run attack instead of a complex pass game that overtaxes the quarterback, Notre Dame can have that great success. Zaire has a brand of natural leadership Golson didn’t. It showed the moment Zaire got into the lineup at USC despite the blowout score. While Golson wandered in a fog, Zaire engaged the bench.

There should be no question this offense will be Zaire’s now. Kelly played it smart by essentially naming him the starter instead of staging a sham quarterback competition in August. DeShone Kizer needs work. So does Brandon Wimbush. But Notre Dame needs even more to have a clear direction at the position. Now it does.

Where Kelly can evolve beyond play calling is player management of a position he’s often reduced to rubble. He publicly ripped Crist after the USC debacle four years ago, a relationship that then turned toxic. When Andrew Hendrix was forced into action against USC two years ago, he froze. Under Chuck Martin at Miami, Hendrix developed into an all-conference quarterback.

Golson was next in line, another quarterback run ragged by season’s end. Like those other two, he wanted out.

Yet Kelly has the template to make this work. He took a freshman Rees and coaxed him into a four-game win streak, saving a season spiraling out of control. He took a red-shirt freshman Golson to the BCS National Championship Game. He turned a red-shirt freshman Zaire into a bowl game MVP during his first start.

Inexplicably, Notre Dame is 15-1 when starting a freshman or red-shirt freshman quarterback under Kelly. It’s when Kelly complicates his offense that things go sideways, the head coach unable to resist adding complexities, wrinkles and checks.
Kelly is an expert in the field of spread offense. But he’s struggled to teach that course here.

Golson’s departure is a step back for Notre Dame’s program, even if it cuts out a drama before training camp. But this roster move can also be a positive if Kelly sees it as an opportunity to change.

This isn’t about whether or not Kelly should yell at his quarterbacks. It’s about whether or not Kelly is getting the best out of them.

With Everett Golson, he didn’t.

With Malik Zaire, he can.

Getting there means Brian Kelly must change, both the plays he calls and how he manages the quarterbacks who run them.

And here's Keith Arnold's take:

The dust has settled. Everett Golson is leaving Notre Dame. So while the rest of the story will take chase—the wheres and the whys eventually coming out—the only thing that’s important for the Irish is looking at what remains, and how the program moves on from here.

On paper—and that’s all this decision has been with volleying written statements of gratitude from Golson and head coach Brian Kelly—things become far simpler for the Irish offense, though the margin for error is eliminated.

Malik Zaire is the starting quarterback. And as Kelly said in his statement, he’s got “supreme confidence” in his third-year sophomore quarterback.

So let’s take a look at a few different angles as we explore Golson’s departure.

You can’t blame Golson. But you certainly can judge him.

With a final season of eligibility remaining and a deep desire to put himself in position to be an NFL quarterback, Golson ultimately didn’t believe his best opportunity to do that was at Notre Dame.

“I have decided that it is in my best interest to graduate from Notre Dame and transfer to another school effectively immediately,” Golson said in his statement.

That move comes with consequences.

Golson’s legacy is now a complicated one. He’ll join Dayne Crist and Andrew Hendrix as quarterbacks in the modern era who ended their once-promising careers at another school. But unlike those two, Golson accomplished impressive things—though leaving before he had a chance to cement his legacy certainly earns him no historic favor.

A fifth-year in the program would’ve given Golson a chance to make a run at some impressive statistical numbers, especially surrounded by this personnel. More importantly, Golson could lead the Irish into a lofty postseason game—a second appearance reserving him a spot among the elite quarterbacks at Notre Dame.

Legacy is a difficult concept to grasp as a 22-year-old. And it certainly doesn’t pay the bills once you leave South Bend.

But after receiving universal praise for battling back from his academic suspension and returning to Notre Dame, it’s more than fair to criticize this decision as an easy way out, even while it may very well escalate his 2015 season’s degree of difficulty.

It’s time to recalibrate some offensive expectations.

In the day-after analysis game, there are some winners and losers that jump to mind. Zaire the most obvious winner of them all. Notre Dame’s best offensive leader will now be the captain of the ship—a desire he made clear from Day One of this competition.

But while Golson’s connection with rising junior Will Fuller in the Blue-Gold game served as the game’s biggest play, this certainly isn’t good news for Fuller’s stat line or the passing offense. While Fuller will get his opportunities to take the top off of a defense, you’ve got to think that the sheer number of balls coming his way (not to mention successfully completed) will be down significantly. That will trickle down to Chris Brown, Corey Robinson and the rest of a talented receiving corps, with the untested tight ends potentially getting more involvement.

Harry Hiestand’s meeting room likely isn’t wallowing in sorrow. As an offensive line, a 230-pound sledgehammer of a quarterback that serves as a trigger man for a devastating zone-read running game is a dream come true. No need to try finessing anybody up front. The trenches will be a fist fight, one that fits the personality of this group—and now offense—just fine.

While we will all inevitably dig into the LSU game to look for clues as to how this offense will look, the one-game sample was never a good predictor. And it certainly won’t be with DeShone Kizer and Brandon Wimbush serving as primary backups.

So expect Zaire to be put on a proverbial pitch count when it comes to running the football, and expect the three-headed monster of Tarean Folston, Greg Bryant and C.J. Prosise to be more than happy to pick up the slack.

The plans for Brandon Wimbush have changed.

Even as the crown-jewel of the 2015 recruiting class, incoming freshman Brandon Wimbush expected to spend his freshman year learning. That’s not the case anymore, with Wimbush now likely thrown into the backup quarterback battle with Kizer, who didn’t necessarily have the best of spring games.

Wimbush spoke with the South Bend Tribune about the transfer news, candidly discussing how it’ll change his early college experience.

“I was really shocked,” Wimbush told the Tribune‘s Tyler James. “It gives me an opportunity, which I’m excited for, but I’m kind of disappointed that he left because I wanted to be able to learn under him.

“I wanted to redshirt. I had the mindset of coming in and redshirting and being able to learn and get acclimated for a year. With this, my mind changed immediately. My mindset really did change quickly as soon as I heard it.”

Wimbush hits campus in early June. From there, it’ll be straight to the deep end, working with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford to master the offense as quickly as possible, though it’s still far from ideal to have any young quarterback—highly touted or not—as part of the game plan.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for Brian Kelly.

From the moment Golson set foot on campus, he was the apple of Kelly’s eye. And perhaps that created a blind spot for a head coach who has otherwise had 20-20 vision.

After inheriting a depth chart filled with quarterbacks that didn’t resemble his prototype, Golson was the solution. And after a redshirt season spent grooming, Golson won a three-man race that turned into the 2012 season—a year where both the head coach and quarterback flourished.

But after Golson’s academic departure essentially cost the Irish a potentially great 2013 season, the quarterback came back and Kelly acted like nothing had happened. That approach worked when wide receiver Michael Floyd spent spring practice in limbo and then made the most out of his second chance. But it didn’t at the quarterback position and the team suffered for it.

Kelly hung tight with Golson last season longer than just about anybody else would have. And while none of us were in practice or meeting rooms watching Zaire prepare for his chance to play, when Golson finally flamed out against USC, it was clear that the team took to Zaire’s energy and playing style immediately.

Entering this spring, Kelly once again appeased Golson, taking him out of the media availability circuit, allowing him to focus on football and academics—a decision that certainly spared Golson from talking about the elephant in the room.

And with Kelly, associate head coach Mike Denbrock and new offensive coordinator Mike Sanford all praising Golson for his work ethic and commitment this spring, it still ended up with the quarterback’s departure.

Credit Kelly for finally being honest with his quarterback—even if it came too late to salvage 2014. (And really, unless Malik Zaire could play linebacker like Joe Schmidt, that season wasn’t going to be salvaged.)

Kelly could’ve told Golson whatever he needed to to keep him on campus. But with the potential for a great season in 2015 with either quarterback behind center, Kelly considered the other 84 scholarship players on the roster instead of the one who had only gotten his way.

Competition is only the lifeblood of a program if it’s happening at every position. And if Golson wasn’t comfortable competing, he’s better off playing somewhere else.

The Malik Zaire era has begun.

Golson’s departure means Kelly is still hunting for his first multi-year, consecutive-seasoned starter, crazy when you consider he’s entering his sixth season.

Enter Malik Zaire.

Whether it was Plan A or not, Zaire has the chance to be a three-year starter and a multi-year captain for the Irish, the perfect lead-from-the-front, face-of-the-program type quarterback that Golson was never comfortable being.

Now Zaire needs to show the maturity to handle the spotlight. That means no more emotional tweets of the less-than-cryptic variety, that will certainly serve as an earthquake amongst the far from stable segment of this fanbase that still expects the worst when it comes to this program.

It also means growing into the quarterback Notre Dame needs. While Zaire will be the perfect runner in the Irish system, if the offense will be optimized, it’ll require a dedication to the craft of quarterbacking. That means a better mastery of the mid-level passing game and a deeper understanding of the playbook.

Zaire can get away with a late throw playing against USC reserves trailing by multiple touchdowns. He can’t playing against the Trojans in mid-October with an undefeated season on the line. Or on a 3rd-and short in the red zone when the line of scrimmage is stacked and expecting a run.

While the woe-is-me crowd will look at Golson’s departure as another sign that the gods are conspiring against the Irish, the reality is far from it.

Simply put, Golson looked into the future and didn’t like what he saw.

While dodging competition certainly doesn’t seem like the best way to make it to the NFL, the decision has been made and the Irish are moving forward with Zaire. Now it’s up to the brash and confident young quarterback to prove he was a leading man all along.

And finally, here's Grantland's Matt Hinton with an article titled "Irish Eyes, Unsmiling":

When news broke on Thursday that quarterback Everett Golson plans to transfer from Notre Dame to spend his final season of college eligibility elsewhere, the first order of business was trying to deduce his new destination. Absent any hints from Golson himself, who referenced the future in his official statement only to confirm that he’ll be graduating from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree later this month, most of the initial buzz has centered on Texas, a prospective marriage that lends itself both to opportunism, with Texas desperate for an upgrade behind center, and to drama, with the Longhorns set to open the 2015 season at Notre Dame on September 5. For some idea of how enthusiastically UT would welcome a proven quarterback between now and then, note that in a lawsuit deposition earlier this year, head coach Charlie Strong couldn’t even remember the name of his incumbent starter from 2014.

As intriguing as it is to imagine the prodigal Irish star sauntering onto his old home turf in opposing colors, though, Golson’s is the rare transfer case in which the where is not nearly as interesting as the how. Given this ending, it’s fair to say now that the trajectory of Golson’s career in South Bend defied precedent. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he was at the controls for an undefeated regular-season run to the national championship game, a campaign that saw Notre Dame reach no. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in two decades. As recently as six months ago, he was regarded as a viable Heisman candidate just a few weeks before the 2014 trophy was scheduled to be awarded, and managed 37 total touchdowns last year (29 passing, eight rushing). Altogether, he boasts an 18-5 record as a starter, giving him more career wins going into the upcoming season than all but six other active FBS quarterbacks.

Based on those credentials alone, Golson is arguably the most decorated quarterback to hit the pseudo free-agent transfer market in recent memory, the rough college equivalent of a franchise NFL QB opting to skip out on, or being denied, a contract extension. That never happens. How does that happen?

The short answer, as with most transfers, comes down to playing time: Although coach Brian Kelly refrained from declaring a front-runner in the spring competition between Golson and redshirt sophomore Malik Zaire, the fact that Zaire held his own in the spring after taking a majority of the snaps in last December’s Music City Bowl upset over LSU certainly seemed to bode poorly for the veteran. It’s also possible that coaches were more up-front privately with Golson about the passing of the torch than they were publicly with reporters.

The longer answer is that, even in the best of times, few quarterbacks have insisted on traversing the yin and yang of a college career quite as thoroughly as Golson. Initially, his success was tempered by the impression that he’d stumbled into the perfect situation at the perfect moment; at times, his production seemed largely ancillary to the team’s fate during the 2012 BCS run, when he accounted for just 18 touchdowns in 12 games and was buoyed by the nation’s no. 1 regular-season scoring defense. During one stretch that year, the Irish held opposing offenses out of the end zone in 17 consecutive quarters, while the offense went on to average fewer points per game (26.0) than Notre Dame has scored in any other season since 2008. Golson’s encore campaign in 2013 was deep-sixed by a cheating scandal (or something like that) that cost him the entire season. Last year’s apparent resurgence ended in misery after his newfound predilection for turnovers overtook his Heisman bid and set it ablaze in the course of a four-game November skid.

For his part, Zaire was hardly a revelation in the bowl game, where he averaged a modest 6.4 yards per pass in his first career start. But he didn’t commit a turnover and he added a team-best 96 yards rushing, easily surpassing Golson’s career high on the ground. Plus, considering the competition, the offense as a whole delivered its most complete performance of the year. Even if promoting Zaire to the top of the depth chart full time is a gamble, at this point it’s hard to argue it’s not also the safer bet.

Still, as prospective recruits go, a guy with Golson’s track record remains a prize catch. Despite the initial speculation about Texas, the odds that he’ll wind up as a Longhorn are, well, long: Under NCAA rules, Notre Dame retains the right to block his transfer to specific schools, and is unlikely to sign off on a move that would put Golson on the opposing sideline in the season opener. Golson is also unlikely to land anywhere in the SEC, which requires a special waiver for graduate transfers who have a history of academic and/or disciplinary issues at their previous school, as Golson does; so much for murmurs about upstaging the aspiring starters at Alabama, LSU, or South Carolina, Golson’s home state. Of the potential destinations that have surfaced so far, the best fit would seem to be Florida State, which appears to be unencumbered by bureaucratic obstacles or an heir apparent to Jameis Winston.

Wherever Golson goes, with only one year left to make good on his tantalizing potential, he’ll step immediately into the starting role with more fanfare than any fifth-year defector since Russell Wilson took his talents to Wisconsin. The cost: one scholarship. Let the buyer beware.

For the record, count me among those who is very skeptical that the SEC rule cited above will keep Golson away from those schools.

 

[SaltyND24]

My feelings on the situation was that Kelly said that they would be sharing the load and that's what drove Golson's decision. It would absolutely make no sense for Golson to transfer if Kelly told him he'd be the guy, but that doesn't mean that Kelly told him that Zaire was the guy. If the competition was to remain open going into the summer, it would be in Golson's best interest to go elsewhere...I believe that this adds 1 or possibly 2 losses to the season next year. I would have full confidence in either Zaire or Golson coming on to save the day if one of them was having an off game. Now, with DK and BW being unproven commodities, I'm not so confident that if/when Zaire struggles or (god forbid) gets hurt, that we'll have a guy that can come in save the day.