Don’t Think Everett Golson is a Good Fit for Georgia Football? Think Again
Everett Golson is leaving Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility, and when it was announced that Georgia was among his top choices, the backlash from fans was tremendous.
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Last week when former Notre Dame starting quarterback Everett Goslon announced his plan to transfer, Twitter got a little busy. When further information was revealed that he wanted to stay close to home, and that Georgia and South Carolina were two of his top choices, some Bulldog fans lost their minds.
The problem is that fans who are dead set against Golson as a Bulldog are only looking at the numbers, and not at what this kid and do and how he could help Georgia for one season. While his turnover issues in 2014 are a concern, there’s a lot more to Golson than that. Still, that didn’t stop the Bulldog Nation from rolling over on its ear and howling at the moon.
Everett Golson to #Georgia makes ZERO sense. We're already choosing between three QBs for the starting job, so why add a fourth?
— Nathan Toburen (@Gnatdawg) May 7, 2015
Promising myself that I won't, once again, jump on the Georgia bandwagon if Everett Golson transfers there.
— Tyler McComas (@Tyler_McComas) May 7, 2015
And yes, there were more. There were also some in favor of the possibility of Golson coming to UGA, but it seemed the voices of the negative were in the majority.
Those voices need to listen to this…
Golson would not only be the most game-ready quarterback at Georgia if he were to come to Athens, but he’d also be the best fit for what Georgia wants to do. When Golson is right and playing at his best, he’s on another level. He throws a tremendous deep ball, can run when needed (but doesn’t make a living at it) and has nice touch on the ball.
As for his supposed propensity to turn the ball over, you have to take it in context and look at each turnover for exactly what it is.
The Notre Dame QB had 22 turnovers in 2014, 14 interceptions and eight fumbles. While those may sound like alarming numbers, you have to put them in perspective. Here’s a number to keep it in focus…Jameis Winston had 17 interceptions in 2014, three more than Golson. The difference? FSU didn’t have to score practically every time they had the ball because they had a defense who could actually stop opponents from scoring.
Notre Dame, not so much in 2014.
Sep 27, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson (5) fumbles as he is hit by Syracuse Orange linebacker Cameron Lynch (38) in the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Of Golson’s 14 picks, two of them were tipped balls at the line of scrimmage caused by penetration through the offensive line, at least four of them could be attributed to receivers simply dropping passes (such as the inexplicable drop by Corey Robinson against Arizona State) or running poor routes, and one of them was against FSU, as he was being leveled by a blitzing lineman.That really only leaves seven interceptions that were poor decisions or could be attributed to Golson as the culprit.
As for his eight fumbles, one of them which was credited to Golson, was really an issue with the center snap. Several others happened on busted plays when Golson was simply trying to keep a play alive. So in all, his turnover issues might not be as bad as they seem on the surface.
Georgia would offer Golson three things he did not have as part of his arsenal at Notre Dame; a top-flight running game with lots of depth in the backfield, an offensive line that was (and still should be) among the best in the nation, and a defense that will keep the need to score 30 or more points a game off the table.
When you look at what Golson did outside of those ugly turnover numbers, he accounted for 3,728 yards of offense for the Irish, and 37 touchdowns. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Game experience, in what is sure to be a one-and-done stanza at quarterback regardless of who gets the job, has to be a serious consideration as well.
Golson has 25 games of starting QB experience at the FBS level. All three of Georgia’s other quarterback candidates combined? Zero. With a new offensive coordinator here now and a 5-star, number one rated quarterback coming to Athens next year, the Bulldogs need a signal-caller who can hit the ground running and make the most out of a single season without trying to hard.
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Golson would have nothing to lose as a one-year starter at Georgia, and chances are he’d play with a much more relaxed focus than the other three, two of whom could still be eying the job for 2016. Bringing Golson in (if he decided on Georgia) would be a risk, but the potential rewards for having such an experienced and talented quarterback to lead this team for one season far outweigh those risks.
Georgia could possibly win the SEC East and even the SEC with quarterback play that was no worse than what Hutson Mason provided last season. They could be a next level kind of team if Golson were to come in and play up to his potential.