Yes, I know it’s only been three games against average to below average competition, but Irish quarterback Everett Golson looks like the best signal caller in the nation so far during the 2014 season. For a guy who sat out all of 2013, Golson has been unbelievably sharp in games against the overmatched Owls of Rice, the always underachieving team from up north and the god awful Boilermakers of Purdue.
While every so called expert says the difference in this year’s Golson from the one that we last saw taking a beating in the national championship game two years ago is QB guru George Whitfield. Now that might have some slight justification to it because Whitfield seems to be some sort of quarterback whisperer to the point where if he touches young quarterbacks, they instantly become better.
But If I was a betting man, I’d point to first year Notre Dame Quarterback coach Matt LaFleur as the main reason for Golson’s rapid emergence in Heisman Trophy discussions. LaFleur was the quarterback’s coach for the Washington Redskins during the past four seasons under then head coach Mike Shanahan.
Watch the offensive play calls combined with the way Golson is running the offense, and you can see the influence LaFleur has had on the senior’s game. All of those rollouts that are being called for Golson are the same types of plays that were called for Robert Griffin III. Same thing with the read options that have became big plays when they routed Michigan two Saturdays ago. So far, it looks like the exact same playbook the Redskins ran under LaFlur’s mentor Mike Shanahan.
With new coordinators on both sides of the football this past spring, the hiring of LaFleur got lost in the shuffle. But we might all look back and say it ended up being head coach Brian Kelly’s best hire since taking over the Irish program in 2010. You also have to start wondering how much better Golson would be right now if LaFleur had been his position coach when he first stepped on the Notre Dame campus back in 2011.
In January when Notre Dame hired LaFleur, Kelly had high praise for him saying:
“Matt has a proven resume of developing quarterbacks at numerous levels of football, none more evident than his outstanding work with the Washington Redskins.”
He was a major factor in the success not only of two rookies, Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins, but was also crucial in the resurgence of Rex Grossman’s career, who established numerous career bests under LaFleur in 2010.
Former Notre Dame Quarterback Evan Sharpley also gives LaFleur high praise saying that he has had the pleasure of getting to know Matt (Coach LaFleur) and can’t say enough about his desire to continually push the boundaries as a coach. Within the first five minutes of talking with him, we were already discussing QB drills and how to coach to specific players.
He is a player’s coach. He wants to improve himself so that he can help make the specific player he’s working with even better.
If Golson can keep improving and continue to make big plays, it won’t be long before other schools start taking notice of LaFleur’s work. And when they do, other schools will come calling with bigger job opportunities.