Some bold quotes in here from Ben Mauk, too.

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http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/2770245-419/kelly-golson-quarterback-dame-notre...

QB speculation already starting

MARK POTASH

ON NOTRE DAME

Dec 9, 2010 10:24PM

For a coach whose success is tethered to his quarterback like few others in college football, Brian Kelly never has had his Tim Tebow.

He has won with quarterbacks he inherited and quarterbacks he recruited, with quarterbacks who fit his system and quarterbacks who don't. But because of his rapid rise from Grand Valley State to Notre Dame, he never has had the luxury of a quarterback tailor-made for his no-huddle spread offense that he scouted, recruited, nurtured and started for three or four seasons, like Urban Meyer did with Tebow at Florida.

"˜"˜It's a guaranteed Heisman Trophy to whoever that guy is,'' said former Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk, who thrived in his only season in Kelly's offense in 2007 after transferring from Wake Forest. "˜"˜Once he gets a guy in there he can trust - they're on the same page and they go through those meetings where he knows he's on the same page - then you'll see a whole new dimension to the offense.''

The recent uptick in Notre Dame's recruiting fortunes since victories against Utah, Army and USC has produced at least a potential candidate to fill that role: Everett Golson, a senior from Myrtle Beach, S.C., who committed to the Irish last week. Golson had committed to North Carolina in February but decommitted because of uncertainty about an NCAA investigation of the Tar Heels' program.

"˜"˜[Golson] has the potential to be the next Tony Rice,'' said national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, referring to the quarterback who led Notre Dame to its most recent national championship in 1988. "˜"˜He's only 5-11 or 6-foot, but he throws ropes, he has good accuracy and he can run. I think he's what they've been looking for.''

"˜Heart of a champion'

Golson, who is listed at 6-1 and 185 pounds, certainly fits the mold of the ideal quarterback for Kelly's system. Though not a burner, his mobility and elusiveness made him a dangerous option quarterback in high school.

But he's a passer first. In four seasons as a starter, Golson completed 63 percent of his passes for 11,454 yards, 148 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. He threw 35 touchdown passes as a freshman, 44 as a sophomore, 47 as a junior and 22 as senior, despite missing eight of 15 games with an ankle injury.

And Golson has an intangible Kelly craves.

"˜"˜He has the heart of a champion,'' Mickey Wilson, the coach at Myrtle Beach High School, said after Golson rallied the Seahawks from a nine-point second-half deficit to win the state title game last Saturday.

Golson, in fact, was 45-4 as a healthy starter, playing in three state championship games and winning two of them. He also played on a state championship basketball team as a freshman. That's the kind of resume Kelly respects. Cincinnati's Zach Collaros, statistically the most prolific Division I quarterback Kelly has recruited, was 41-1 with two state titles in high school.

Golson also fits the Notre Dame mold. He is a motivated student who grew up playing multiple instruments in church on Sundays and played the bass in the high school orchestra. He reportedly intends to enroll at Notre Dame in January to get the same jump-start in football that gave Tommy Rees a leg up on the starter's role when Dayne Crist was injured against Tulsa.

Golson's commitment only adds to the intrigue of Notre Dame's quarterback battle for 2011. Rees, a freshman from Lake Forest, is the assumed front-runner, based on his aptitude for the offense that has helped carry the Irish to three consecutive victories.

Crist, a junior with two more years of eligibility, was making steady progress as the starter when he suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee against Tulsa. But he likely will miss all of spring practice, which will put him even further behind.

Andrew Hendrix, a 6-2, 218-pound freshman whose arm strength and running ability might be the best fit for Kelly's offense on the current roster, "˜"˜will get a lot of preparation work'' during practices for the Sun Bowl, Kelly said. And while he won't play in the bowl game to preserve a year of eligibility, he's expected to be in the running for the starting job next season.

Luke Massa, a 6-4, 215-pound freshman, also figures to get a shot in spring practice, if not in fall camp.

Best player plays

The wild card might be Golson, a prodigy whose skills have been recognized in Myrtle Beach since he was in the first grade.

"˜"˜I had never seen a 6-year-old throw a spiral like that,'' Carey MacAulay-Schild, his first-grade teacher, told the Myrtle Beach Sun News in 2007. "˜"˜I told my husband I had a kid that could win the Heisman Trophy.''

Kelly doesn't play favorites when it comes to position battles. The best player plays.

"˜"˜It's about seeing things without having it explained to you what you're seeing,'' Kelly said. "˜"˜You have a sense in seeing the game and understanding the game, and it comes to you easily. I have had some situations where quarterbacks that I have recruited have not played as well as some that I have inherited, then obviously the opposite.''

But it might end up making the difference eventually.

"˜"˜The one thing [about players he recruits] is they are going to be guys that love to play and will welcome being challenged every day to being the best they can be,'' Kelly said. "˜"˜That's probably where my personality comes into recruiting more.''