April 01--Picking up his receiver allowed Everett Golson to return to Notre Dame to pick up his former receivers.
The Irish quarterback of yesteryear said an invitation three weeks ago from coach Brian Kelly led him back to the place he fled for Florida State some 10 months ago, after he earned his degree.
The return trip culminated Thursday, when he flashed his familiar No. 5 on the back of his T-shirt and a Notre Dame logo on the front as he lofted passes to familiar friends inside the Loftus Sports Complex during Notre Dame's pro day.
An audience of 72 NFL personnel representing 31 teams watched as he completed some "ahh"- inspiring passes, including one to Amir Carlisle.
"It's more like that long-lost brother coming home," Golson said. "It's not like they act like I'm some brand-new guy."
Among the passes his right arm launched Thursday was one that never landed, but Golson's reasons for returning were pretty simple: He's hoping his NFL career takes off, though his name is absent from most mock draft boards, meaning he'll likely have to try to latch on as a free agent.
One of those balls, intended for Fuller, found itself settled into a net high above the indoor field. Golson, though, said his emotions were void of any such tangles.
"Some of my best friends are on this team," he said. "I felt like I was kind of here, from a distance."
His familiarity hardly was a source of contempt. In just his second meeting with media since he left Notre Dame, Golson said he chose to attend mostly because he was comfortable with former teammates such as Will Fuller, Chris Brown and Carlisle.
"This is my alma mater," he said. "I wanted to be back with those guys one last time."
Golson, who ran a 4.82 40-yard dash Thursday after not receiving an invitation to the combine, said he has kept in touch with offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford since leaving and carries no ill will toward Kelly or his program.
"For him to even allow me to come back after everything," Golson said. "I could see how coaches would probably feel some type of animosity toward the player, but I can honestly say he hasn't felt any of that."
Golson has been in town for about a week-and-a-half and began scripting plays for pro day about a week ago.
He said he doesn't regret leaving Notre Dame last year and doesn't regret his one season at Florida State, though he declined to elaborate on why he skipped the team's bowl game.
Golson was suspended for the 2013 season for what he deemed "poor judgment on a test" and lost his starting job to Malik Zaire during the Music City Bowl at the end of the 2014 season.
He was competing with Zaire to earn that spot back in the spring of 2015 but decided to graduate and transfer to Florida State, where he started eight games, played in nine and threw for 1,778 yards and 11 touchdowns a year after going for 3,445, 29 and 14 interceptions for the Irish.
Golson may have been gone from Notre Dame, but he hadn't forgotten where he'd been. He said he often watched the Irish on television and called out plays. He saved some high praise for DeShone Kizer, who took over after Zaire broke his ankle last season against Virginia.
"Wow. Wow. He's grown up for real," Golson said. "He's really performing. He's surpassed everything I thought. ... Him being forced into that, that's a hard thing to do. ... My hat's off to him."
pskrbina@tribpub.com
