Everett Golson Returns To ND As 'That Long Lost Brother Coming Home'
After participating in Notre Dame’s pro day Thursday, quarterback Everett Golson said it felt like he never left campus.
The Myrtle Beach, S.C., native left the Irish for Florida State as a graduate transfer last summer before finishing 7-1 as a starter for the Seminoles.
Golson started for the Irish as a sophomore in 2012, guiding the team to a 12-1 record. After serving a suspension in 2013, he returned to school in 2014. Notre Dame began the season 7-1 before falling apart with four consecutive losses to end the regular season, due in large part to Golson’s turnover woes.
The quarterback is now hoping for a shot in the NFL and returned to South Bend to throw to some of his former teammates — receivers Will Fuller, Chris Brown and Amir Carlisle.
“This is my alma mater,” he said. “I got my degree from here. I wanted to be here with those guys. As it turns out, I didn't have any wide receivers [headed for the draft] at FSU. I wanted also to be back with these guys one last time. It's kind of a big moment when you really think about it. You've got guys out here who will probably never be in the same spot together again, you know what I'm saying? For me, that was very important. Getting out here, throwing to guys I've been comfortable with.”
Golson said he felt like “a long lost brother coming home.”
“[I have] not skipped a beat. That's the thing,” he said. “It's been good. It's not like I'm some brand new guy. They talk to me as if I was at workouts yesterday. It's been good.”
The signal-caller said he regularly watched Irish games last fall and compared it to the fall of 2013 when he had to do the same during his academic suspension.
“Some of my best friends are on this team,” he said. “Sheldon [Day], that's my guy, my brother from another mother. I always kept up with those guys and kind of watching from afar and seeing what they're doing. I watched some of their games and called out plays like, 'This is what they're running. This is what they're thinking.' It's definitely been good. I felt like I was kind of here from a distance.
“I kind of had the same experience in 2013 when I was suspended. George [Whitfield] will tell you the same thing. Me watching the game is like, 'Alright cool. They're running this. Or they're running that.' It gives you a different perspective.”
Golson is unlikely to be drafted next month and says he does not want to attempt any position but quarterback — “That’s what I am,” he says — but he says there is “no doubt in my mind” that he can succeed as a signal-caller at the next level.
When asked about his transfer from Notre Dame, Golson said “you live with the decisions that you make and the decision at that time was to leave.” Although the breakup one year ago was less than amicable, he thanked his former teammates and Notre Dame for their support.
It seems that for both sides, time has healed the wounds of a difficult departure.