SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The idea is for Everett Golson to start and finish against Michigan State on Saturday. But for Notre Dame’s sophomore quarterback to follow through on that plan, he must go mental.
“Physically we’re pleased where he’s at,” coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday. “It’s living up to what we thought he could do.
“We’ve got a lot to do with the mental part of the game, the quarterbacking, the fundamentals — all the things that go along with that. The physical elements he brings are quite exciting. We’ve got to continue to work on the mental part of it.”
It was a clear concession that Golson does not have an unyielding grasp of the offense after two starts. Communication, getting into the right play — these are critical areas Golson must “clean up,” in Kelly’s estimation.
To avoid another call to savvier veteran Tommy Rees — who ran the two-minute drill that led to the winning field goal against Purdue on Saturday — Golson must build confidence in practice this week.
“(Tuesday), Wednesday and Thursday are really important days in the development of Everett Golson,” Kelly said.
Who takes the snap might not matter to No. 10 Michigan State, which saw Rees last year and has faced multiple multi-threat quarterbacks in Big Ten play.
“That’s just about having guys during the week that can imitate each quarterback and what they bring to the game,” Spartans linebacker Max Bullough said. “That offense is set up for each of those guys to do something different when they’re in there. So it’s just knowing what they’re going to do and being able to handle that information.”
Return investment: Freshman Davonte Neal has 12 net yards on five punt returns. But an 11-yard runback is Notre Dame’s third-best since the start of a disastrous 2011 in that department, so at least he’s trying.
“He’s a gutsy kid, he loves being in that moment and I love putting guys out there that relish that opportunity,” Kelly said.
Extra points: Linebacker Danny Spond (migraines) is cleared and should play against Michigan State, helping to stabilize the drop linebacker spot, Kelly said. … Receiver DaVaris Daniels (ankle sprain) was out of a boot Tuesday, but Kelly said the Irish will be careful with him in practice.
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