Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Quarterbacks The Drama Club Signal-caller is a question mark again entering 2013 By Lou Somogyi f one wants to be part of the drama club at Notre Dame, a meeting at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center might be a good start. Maybe even a better path would be to try out as the quarterback on the football team. Plenty of drama always seems to lurk there. Head coach Brian Kelly's fourth season at Notre Dame was supposed to be the first year under his regime where stability would be present at quarterback entering the season. Incumbent junior Everett Golson, after a successful 2012 that resulted in a BCS National Championship Game appearance, had eligibility through the 2015 season. Senior Tommy Rees was ideal out of the bullpen. Another senior, Andrew Hendrix, was a veteran insurance policy, while freshman southpaw Malik Zaire was the apprentice in waiting. Alas, the best-laid plans took a detour when the university confirmed on Memorial Day weekend that Golson was no longer enrolled at Notre Dame. Shortly thereafter, Golson revealed in an university-released statement that "poor academic judgment" led to his suspension from the university for the 2013 fall semester. "I take full responsibility for my poor choices and will do all that is asked of me to regain the trust of my family, friends, teammates, coaches and the entire Notre Dame community," Golson said. " … I want to reassure my supporters that through this experience I will return a better student-athlete as well as a better individual. "Lastly, I want to thank the University of Notre Dame for the opportunity already granted and also the opportunity going forth to regain my eligibility in the winter of 2014." I Business As Usual Kelly is not a novice when it comes to dealing with setbacks at quarterback. • His 2008 Cincinnati team started four different quarterbacks, but still won the Big East to earn a Bowl Championship Series bid. • The next year, starting Bearcats quarterback Tony Pike broke his arm in midseason, forcing backup Zach Collaros, into the lineup for four games. Collaros performed superbly, including rushing for 344 yards, before Pike returned to cap a 12-0 regular season. • At Notre Dame in 2010, starter Dayne Crist suffered a seasonending injury in the ninth game, yet the offense recalibrated after a 4-5 start and under true freshman Tommy Rees finished a surprising 4-0. • Rees was suspended for the 2012 opener after an off-the-field 5 By The Numbers Notre Dame quarterbacks who started at least one game all four seasons of their careers. Ralph Guglielmi (1951-54), Blair Kiel (1980-83), Steve Beuerlein (198386), Ron Powlus (1994-97) and Brady Quinn (2003-06). Barring injury, senior Tommy Rees will become the sixth. Notre Dame's highest NCAA pass efficiency ranking during Brian Kelly's three seasons. The Irish finished 59th in 2010 (129.31 rating) and 2011 (129.58), and 74th last year (128.68). In 2009, with junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame was fourth (161.42). The last known season in which a left-handed quarterback starred in a game for Notre Dame. Southpaw Art Parisien came off the bench to throw a game-winning touchdown to defeat USC 13-12. Freshman left-hander Malik Zaire could end that drought in coming years. 59 1926 Senior Tommy Rees has 18 starts to his credit, and has passed for 4,413 yards with 32 touchdowns and 24 interceptions during his career while completing 63.6 percent of his throws. photo by lon horwedel fracas with the South Bend Police Department, yet sophomore Everett Golson — with four saves from Rees out of the bullpen — propelled a stunning 12-0 regular-season finish and a berth into the BCS National Championship Game. • This March, freshman Gunner Kiel, a five-star recruit in 2012, decided the opportunity to showcase his skills might not be possible with Golson's presence, so he left the program prior to spring practice and enrolled at Cincinnati after the spring semester. So it's hardly a surprise that flinching was not part of Kelly's persona upon hearing the bad news about Golson. "I'm on 30 years now in college ball, and it's like being a dad — you're disappointed, but you know these things happen, and you want your players to be accountable," Kelly said. "So there's a big sense of pride in knowing that Everett handled himself in the right way, took full accountability and responsibility, [and] is going to do everything in his power to get himself back here at Notre Dame. "… You can't be surprised when you're working with 18- to 21-yearolds." The Survivor Throughout his first three years at Notre Dame, Rees (6-2, 213 pounds) has been the proverbial "backup plan" for the guy who can't get the more glamorous girls to go with him to the prom. 40 ✦ Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview 40-43.QBs.indd 40 6/25/13 9:33 AM