Notre Dame Football: World Hopping on Everett Golson Bandwagon, Can He Deliver?

The Return. The Redemption. And now...The Rematch.

After 600 days away from football and a blistering start to the 2014 season, Everett Golson might not just be running Brian Kelly's playbook, but also Joseph Campbell's. 

This hero's journey that Golson finds himself on has turned the face of Notre Dame football—one of the most polarizing teams in all of sports—into a quarterback that just about everybody is rooting for. With Golson's bandwagon growing larger by the day, the senior faces his toughest challenge of the year: Stanford's No. 1 defense. 

With the Irish and Cardinal set to do battle Saturday afternoon, Golson has an opportunity to write another chapter in an epic saga that's transfixed sports fans. Facing a defense that's the best in the country by just about every statistical measurement, the engine that drives Notre Dame's offense will face a defense that could be even better than the one that knocked him from Notre Dame's 20-13 overtime win two years earlier.

But then again, so is Golson. And it's not just Notre Dame fans that are taking notice. The quarterback is now in the lead pack for the Heisman Trophy, getting 12/1 odds, the same as Georgia's Todd Gurley.

He's also earning praise across the college football world. Yahoo! Sports' Pat Forde profiled Golson Wednesday, finding an unlikely fan of the quarterback in Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville. 

"Gosh almighty, he’s good, now,” Tuberville told Forde. "He’s real good. I think he’s made the most improvement. He’s got the team on his back."

Tuberville might be one of the few coaches in America that truly appreciates Golson's abilities, with his Bearcats program scooping up Gunner Kiel when the former Notre Dame quarterback transferred after being stuck behind Golson in 2012. 

Also taking notice of Golson's improvements is Stanford coach David Shaw. After holding Golson to just 12-of-24 passing two seasons ago, Shaw commented on the quarterback he's seen on tape this year versus the one his team prepared for in 2012. 

"Watching him, it's the difference of confidence. I think he was really good two years ago," Shaw said. "He was very athletic, very accurate, hard to catch and pin down in the backfield. This year, it's the same, but he almost just seems composed, where as before it seemed a little frantic. Know he knows you can't catch him."

That mix of composure, athleticism, arm strength and accuracy has people openly wondering about Golson's NFL future, not always an option for an undersized quarterback. But news is trickling in from NFL talent evaluators, many of whom are taking notice in Golson's improvements. 

"I would compare him very favorably to Russell Wilson in college," Lou Holtz told me last week. "I saw Russell Wilson play when he was at NCS. I saw him when he went to Wisconsin for his last year. I think Everett Golson has the same qualities. He’s got that quick release.

"People say he’s not 6'3", and I say this: Do his feet reach the ground? If your feet reach the ground you’re tall enough. Look at Drew Brees. He’s no more than six feet. But he’s played QB his whole life at six feet. You learn how to find the holes to find the receivers. It’s not like you’re 6'5" and all of a sudden you’re 5'11".  I think he has a great future in the NFL."

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You expect praise like that from Holtz, never one to shy away from the blue and gold pompoms. But even Shaw made the same comparison after breaking down Notre Dame's first four games. 

"I'm not putting him on this pedestal just yet, but I heard someone say it the other day and I believe they were right, that he reminds you of Russell Wilson," Shaw said. "You watch him run around, he never seems panicked, he never throws the ball into triple coverage. If he can get away, he gets away. If he can throw it away, he throws it away. If he can scramble for four yards, he scrambles for four yards. He protects himself, he gets down. He's been a handful for everyone that he's played."

At 4-0, Golson's triumphant return from academic purgatory has been one of the best stories of the first month of the college football season. But to continue down this storybook path, he's going to need to beat an attacking Stanford defense that's giving up less than a touchdown a game. 

Another Saturday, another gigantic test for Golson. 

*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.