Notre Dame Football 2012: Brian Kelly Must Stick to His Word About Using One QB

Thursday, Brian Kelly revealed plenty about the evolving Notre Dame quarterback situation. Not only has Everett Golson been sitting atop the depth chart for most of camp, but the quarterback, as reported by the South Bend Tribune, is getting the bulk of the reps with the first-team offense. As Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune also points out, Golson is getting those reps and topping that depth chart because of his play:

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#NotreDame HC Brian Kelly: "We've had 126 throwing opportunities for Everett (Golson). He's had one interception."

— Brian Hamilton (@ChiTribHamilton) August 16, 2012

 

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The kid who Brian Kelly labeled a "heart attack" in spring is now earning Kelly's trust. Kelly, from the South Bend Tribune:

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"You build trust," Kelly said. "You don't just give it, you build trust.

"So going from that phrase that I used in the spring to where we are today ... we had to really load a lot of work on his plate. And he's exhibited that trust in the way he's handled himself in camp."

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That's about as close to a 180 as you can get when you look at Golson's statistical performance and his head coach's discussion of how he's built that trust through camp. That said, Kelly is not about to "officially name a starter" as many folks are hoping for, as the Chicago Tribune quotes the coach showing his poker face:

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"I have not thought about it in those terms, in terms of making a public announcement about the quarterback position," Kelly said. "Because I've never had it in my mind that we were going to get there at a certain time.  If it's clear to me that we've got a No. 1 and there's a great separation there, then there's a possibility I could announce it.  But I have not thought about it in those terms."

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While Kelly plays that shell game, he also wants just one quarterback for 2012. Number two should be prepared, but the team needs just one leader and as it stands right now, Golson is the leader for that job.

Provided Golson wins the gig, Kelly has got to stick with him, even through the possible heart attacks that a player like Everett Golson can induce. If the Fighting Irish have a BCS Bowl on their minds and a double-digit win season on their horizon, they have to ride the wave that is Everett Golson getting his first season at the helm.

There will be times that he will be up and down. This is an immensely talented quarterback who is going to have to learn, as all athletic quarterbacks do at some point; sometimes you have to throw the ball away and making something out of nothing is truly a crap shoot when everyone is fast. 

However, Kelly has to stick to his guns. Hunker down. Get ready for a season where Golson is going to make you jump for joy and then he might just be sacked, pushing you out of field goal range, because he was trying to make something happen.

The quarterback that we see Week 8 against Oklahoma is going to be light years ahead of the quarterback we see in Week 1 against Navy. That's part of the maturation process and Brian Kelly, for the sake of his ball club, has to take the good with the bad. Especially because, with Golson at the quarterback, this Fighting Irish team has a chance to be very good.