When it came to the Everett Golson situation, we already knew the who, what, where and when: the quarterback transferred to Florida State earlier this month. What has been unknown is why Golson left Notre Dame to play his final season elsewhere.
Most assumed it had something to do with being behind Malik Zaire in the Irish’s quarterback competition, or clashes with head coach Brian Kelly. Golson would likely never cop to either of those explanations if they were even accurate, and he didn’t in an interview with FOXSports.com‘s Bruce Feldman in which the grad transfer talked of wanting “a fresh start” as his reasoning for leaving South Bend for Tallahassee.
“It’s something that’s pretty crazy right now for me to adjust to (not being a member of the Fighting Irish), but I do think it was best for me,” Golson explained. “I just needed a fresh start. It was me sitting down and thinking, ‘OK, where do I feel the most comfortable?’ It was nothing to knock Notre Dame. I just had to put myself in the best position possible.”
Golson also confirmed that ND blocked any potential transfer to not only 2015 opponent Texas, but also any school on this season’s schedule. While admitting he would’ve been interested in the Longhorns -- if you’re a quality quarterback looking for a new home, why wouldn’t you be? -- he also allowed that the decision to keep him away from UT wasn’t at all surprising.
“I would’ve definitely entertained [a transfer to UT], but just knowing that I couldn’t, it kinda limited me,” Golson said. “It was pretty awkward, but it was kind of expected. It would’ve been interesting to see Texas. They (Notre Dame) basically limited me to the schools that we wouldn’t play. I wasn’t really surprised by it. ...
“The biggest thing for me was I wanted to be somewhere down south, too. They didn’t necessarily block me from something I was strongly considering, except maybe Texas.”
That said, Feldman wrote, Golson “appreciates how ND compliance tried to help him through what was a very nerve-wracking process.”
Finally, Golson confirmed that, as had previously been speculated, he had an interest in multiple SEC schools, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU. He also confirmed that getting a waiver from one of those schools, which would’ve been required by the SEC because of his previous academic misconduct issue, was proving problematic and took that conference and those schools out of the process.
Earlier this week, FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher talked of having a quarterback competition between Golson and spring front-runner Sean Maguire, not controversy. Fisher also stated very firmly that nothing was promised to Golson when it came to guaranteeing a starting job. On that front, the player backed up his new coach’s public stance.
“That wasn’t a worry for me at all,” Golson said of going from a competition in South Bend to one in Tallahassee. “I think that’s what a lot of people misconstrued. I’m not afraid of competition at all. There’s gonna be competition when I go to Florida State as well. It was about where I can most benefit myself.”
