If you were looking for anything official out of Notre Dame after Everett Golson announced his intention to play next season at Florida State, think again. But yesterday, Brian Kelly was the head speaker at the ninth annual West Michigan Sports Commission Luncheon in Grand Rapids, and he shared a few comments about the move.
As you might have expected, Kelly gave the same classy statement as he did when Golson announced his intentions.
Per MLive.com’s Peter Wallner, Kelly wished Golson nothing but luck, and proclaiming “great admiration” for his former quarterback.
“He wanted a fresh start and Florida State is going to give him that opportunity and I wish him great success,” Kelly said at the WMSC luncheon. “I just hope they don’t see us later down the road at the national championship game. I won’t wish him success that day.”
While the timing of Golson’s final decision is up for debate, Kelly and the coaching staff honored Golson’s request of not being made available to the media during spring practice, an oddity considering the decision at hand.
But Kelly talked about the chaotic nature of Golson’s spring semester, giving us a look into his mindset the past few months.
“We had about three and a half weeks left in the semester and he’s focused on graduating,” Kelly said, per the MLive.com report. “And we practice in the morning and we have about two hours to get out there and practice and sometimes we look and think he’s got all this time to think about it, and he really doesn’t. He just reacts. He goes out like a football player and practices and then goes to class.”
As you’d expect, Kelly was very optimistic about Malik Zaire’s abilities to run the Irish offense. He also complimented Zaire’s competitiveness, which brought the best out in Notre Dame’s young quarterback, who certainly didn’t shy from the challenge of playing.
So while we’ll never get a chance to see how the Irish offense would’ve functioned with two high-end quarterbacks behind center, Kelly acknowledged that earning his diploma allows Golson the freedom to finish his eligibility elsewhere.
“You’re allowed those opportunities to start anew and I think he felt like he wanted to start anew ... and we wish him the best.”