Transferring from Notre Dame to LSU Would Be Smart Move for Everett Golson
Everett Golson doesn't need a fresh start, but he could sure use one, which is why he's kicking the tires on potential graduate transfer opportunities.
And he may have found the perfect destination.
Less than a week after playing—but not starting—against LSU in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Golson reportedly reached out to the Tigers about joining their program next season, per Jim Kleinpeter of The Times-Picayune.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Golson's academics, however, pose a roadblock to the proceedings. He was was ruled academically ineligible for his redshirt sophomore season in 2013 and would thus need to apply for a waiver from the SEC to have his transfer granted, as Kleinpeter explains:
"LSU is exploring the possibility but would have to obtain a waiver from the conference office since Golson was declared academically ineligible for the 2013 season. The SEC rule allows graduate student transfers without waivers if the student maintained eligibility, had no significant disciplinary issues at the old school and earned all possible APR points.
Graduate transfers are required to make progress toward a graduate degree, otherwise the school won't be able to apply the grad-student exception in that athlete's sport for three years.
"
For the sake of argument, let's pretend that waiver gets granted. Golson graduates in May from Notre Dame and is eligible to join LSU for fall practice, the same way Jake Coker joined Alabama.
Should he do it?
There are reasons to contend that he shouldn't. Rising sophomore Malik Zaire started over Golson in the bowl game, but Golson still saw meaningful playing time, finished with superior passing stats and completed four of five passes for 50 yards on the game-winning field goal drive at the end of the fourth quarter.
As Bleacher Report's Keith Arnold put it: "This isn't a career backup looking for a lifeline. This is Everett Golson."
But isn't that sort of the point?
This is Everett Golson—the guy who led Notre Dame to a 12-0 record, a No. 1 BCS ranking and a spot in the 2012 national title game. Everett Golson—the strong-armed leader whom NFL scouts said "can start in our league," per Dane Brugler of CBS Sports. Everett Golson—the player who in mid-October was the No. 4 favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, per Odds Shark.
How are you supposed to tell that guy to win his job back?
Golson would be the favorite to start at LSU next season despite entering a new system, and he owes it to himself to spend his final season of eligibility playing football. There's a chance—maybe even a coin-flip chance—he could beat Zaire for the job at Notre Dame, but the momentum of public sentiment is against him.
Why should he take the risk?
At LSU, Golson would be hailed as a potential savior. There will be questions about his decision-making—the curious, compoundable mistakes that led to his 22 turnovers in 2014—but he will still be a breath of fresh air for a team that sorely needs it.
Neither Anthony Jennings nor Brandon Harris got the job done this season. LSU finished No. 116 in the country in passing yards per game despite a deep (albeit young) group of pass-catchers and an offensive coordinator, Cam Cameron, who likes to throw the ball downfield.
Golson has the vertical arm to excel in Cameron's offense, stretching the field to targets such as Travin Dural, Malachi Dupre, John Diarse, Trey Quinn and incoming 5-star receiver Tyron Johnson. He also has the mobility to run some dangerous two-man stuff (play-action rollouts, zone reads, etc.) with all-world running back Leonard Fournette.
More than that, though, he will not have the short leash (that he earned) from Notre Dame's fanbase. He will not feel the pressure of a chorus of boos after every interception. Chants to PUT IN ZAIRE make sense, because Zaire has never looked short of incredible.
Chants to PUT IN JENNINGS do not (and will never) exist.
| CMP-ATT | 256-427 | 137-275 |
| CMP % | 60% | 50% |
| Yards | 3,445 | 2,074 |
| TD | 29 | 17 |
| INT | 14 | 9 |
| YPA | 8.1 | 7.5 |
| Rating | 143.6 | 127.0 |
Golson has the physical tools of an All-American/NFL quarterback. At risk of sounding like an armchair psychologist, it seemed his late-season problems were mental. If he erred once, the game was over; he couldn't stop one mistake from turning into two, three, four.
So while Golson has tacitly denied Kleinpeter's report—his exact words: "Don't believe everything you hear"—it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for him to spend a year in Baton Rouge. He could get away from whatever the heck went wrong in South Bend and start anew.
"There will be plenty of scouts who use [Russell] Wilson's success as evidence that Golson can thrive as a pro," Bucky Brooks of NFL.com wrote of Golson in October, comparing the undersized Notre Dame QB to the undersized Seattle Seahawks QB who in college exercised a graduate transfer from NC State to Wisconsin, where he won the Big Ten title.
Wilson has long been the most flattering comparison for Golson—his "best-case" scenario, if you will.
Why not try to follow in his footsteps?
Wilson never spent a year behind a sophomore.
Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeigh35
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
