The Return of Everett Golson

It's been 8 months since I posted in this blog. There just hasn't been much to say. The Cubs suck, Notre Dame sports have disappointed, the Bulls tried (and failed) to tank the 2013-14 season. I guess I could have written about Carolina's playoff season, but most of what I had to say ended up on my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

This weekend is the Notre Dame spring game, the first time Everett Golson will be in a game situation in a Notre Dame uniform since Jan. 7, 2013. It seems like forever and no time at all since that day, a thud ending to a magical season that saw Alabama play a masterful game and crush the Irish 42-14 in the national title game. There was an SBNation article before the 2013 season (which I can't find right now, otherwise I'd link to it) that said that, adjusting for opponent, the Tide's performance in that blowout was the single best college football game played by any team in over a decade. Alas.

Since then, ND played a decent but disappointing 2013 season. They won 9 games, handing Michigan State their only loss and Arizona State one of just two regular-season defeats, and yet they crapped the bed in losses to mediocre Pittsburgh and Michigan teams and had to battle into the fourth quarter to edge out a garbage Purdue squad. The 2013 Irish were an enigma, probably because we and they knew they weren't whole.

That changes in 2014, as Golson returns from a year-long absence necessitated by his suspension from the university for reportedly cheating on a final exam. He has not been anointed the starter just yet, as coach Brian Kelly is giving redshirt freshman Malik Zaire a chance to compete for the job, but it seems clear that Golson will be under center when ND plays its first offensive snap against Rice on Aug. 30. After all, he was probably his team's best player in a national championship game (people remember ND getting blown out - few remember that Golson threw for 270 yards on 7.5 yards per attempt, with no help from the running game, and was responsible for both Irish touchdowns, window dressing though they were). Hard for Zaire to compete with that experience.

There will, of course, be jokes made on social media about Golson all season long regardless of what he does. This comes with the territory of what he did, and ND fans, as well as Golson, know that this is inevitable. However, I'm rooting for him.

Outside of the 'rooting for laundry' thing where Irish fans simply don't have much choice but to root for the junior signal-caller, Golson's return shows a maturity that what got him booted from school didn't. It would have been easy after the embarrassment of what happened for the QB to run off with his tail between his legs and pursue a transfer to a less academically rigorous school (SBNation reported that at least one SEC team inquired about him before he reaffirmed his commitment to play at ND) where he could redeem himself on the field. Instead, he chose to return to the scene of his previous failure and try to atone for what he did. It remains to be seen how that turns out, but I give him credit for choosing to stick it out.

So far, Golson has said all the right things regarding his second chance. How he performs on the football field will go a long way towards what his ultimate legacy will be at Notre Dame. But to many Irish fans, myself included, Golson eventually getting his degree will be just as important to that legacy. The school has always been about trying to compete on the highest level athletically and academically. Golson didn't get that the first time around. Maybe, this time, he will.