A memo to Everett Golson:
Hey Everett, have you heard about Houston? No, not the city, even though it’s pretty impressive and one of the largest in the U.S.
No, I’m talking about the *University* of Houston. They have a football team there, and they just hired a new head coach. His name is Tom Herman. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of him; he was part of the national championship coaching staff at Ohio State last year. In fact he was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach with guys named Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett, and Cardale Jones.
Just saying, if you are looking to spend your final year of eligibility at a place that will help you make the leap to the NFL, why not go to a place where the coach has the nickname “the quarterback whisperer.”
End of memo
For those of you who haven’t heard, Everett Golson is looking for a place to spend his senior season. Golson had a successful but tumultuous tenure at Notre Dame. After last season he announced he’s transferring; and because Golson already has his degree he can transfer anywhere he wants without sitting out a year. He is, essentially, a free agent – just like we see every year in pro sports. Except in this case (supposedly) without any big money offers.
This has some of the big-time schools salivating. After all, in 2014 Golson threw for 3,445 yards and 29 touchdowns with a 60 percent completion rate. In 2012, his freshman season, Golson had 2,405 yards, 12 touchdowns, and completed 59 percent of his passes. That 2012 team went to the national championship game (lost to Alabama).
What about 2013, you ask? Well, um, Golson was suspended because of “poor academic judgement”. Yeah, he cheated on a test. That’s a no-no under the Golden Dome.
Despite his success last season, it was clear Golson wasn’t going to be the starter in 2015. Now it’s open season.
Golson has started a “free agency” tour with visits to Florida and Florida State this week. There are rumors Alabama and Texas are on the list. And Golson, who is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is also being linked to the University of South Carolina.
OK, I get the draw to “big name” schools. Of the five mentioned above, two have won national championships in the last three years. Florida is once again considered a program on the rise now that the Will Muschamp experiment is over.
Then Notre Dame threw a wrench into the Golson derby, blocking any potential transfer to Texas, “some Big Ten programs” (which you could assume means: Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Penn State), and any opponent on Notre Dame’s 2015 schedule.
Which leads me back to the above memo: why not Houston?
OK, fine, UH isn’t a household name and doesn’t have the “sexy” draw of the Power 5 conferences. What is does have, however, is a pedigree of cranking out quarterbacks with gaudy numbers. Now the Cougars also have a head coach who is *the* predominant quarterback coach in college football. As mentioned above, last year Herman had Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett, and Cardale Jones. If all three decided to go pro, all three would have been drafted. Think about that for a second. It’s astounding. That’s not to say Herman deserves all the credit for their success, but all three expressed some level of disappointment when they learned Herman was leaving OSU.
This is, by no means, meant to disrespect current Cougars quarterbacks Greg Ward, Jr., and Adam Schulz. Both may do very well this season. But if you are Houston, with a new coach, new athletic director and new facilities, you would be foolish not to at least put your toe in the pool when it comes to Golson… and vice versa.
At the end of the day Golson will likely end up at one of those “big name” schools because someone will get in his ear and convince him that’s the best path to the NFL. At those schools, however, Golson becomes just another cog in the machine. Imagine the rise his draft stock would take if he could help turn around the Houston program in just one season with Tom Herman. That would be one of the top stories of the college football season.
So University of Houston, meet Everett Golson. Everett Golson, meet the University of Houston. You may just really get along.
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