Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly has officially announced that Everett Golson will be the team’s starting quarterback for week one against Rice. Golson, who missed last season due to academic ineligibility, will regain his spot atop the depth chart. The decision comes rather unexpectedly because Kelly was not supposed to meet with the media until after the Irish’s eleventh preseason practice. During the spring, much was said about the competition between Golson and redshirt freshman Malik Zaire, but Golson proved to Kelly he was ready to lead Notre Dame on and off the field.
In Golson’s only season as a starting quarterback, the Irish won all 12 regular season games before falling to Alabama in the BCS Championship game. In 2012, Golson threw for 2,405 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding a different dimension to the running game where he contributed 298 yards and six more scores on the ground.
Notre Dame enters the season ranked 17 in the country according to the USA Today Poll.