Are the Florida Gators the best fit for Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson? (Video)

By Patrick Schmidt | May 13, 2015

As Everett Golson continues his free agent tour to see where he’ll finish his college football career, could the Florida Gators be his best fit?

Everett Golson is visiting colleges in the southeast as the Notre Dame transfer looks for the best spot to play his final year of college football. Golson visited Florida State earlier in the week and the Seminoles are reportedly the favorite to land him, but their in-state rival, Florida may actually be the best fit for his skill-set.

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First-year Florida head coach Jim McElwain needs more bodies at the position after Skyler Mornhinweg announced he is transferring to Columbia, the Gators only have two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in Treon Harris and Will Grier. Former Alabama and Oregon State quarterback Luke Del Rio is transferring in, but McElwain is excited about the possibility of Golson.

“Per NCAA rules, he’s a prospective student-athlete, so I can’t really comment on that part,” he said on Wednesday, via 247Sports. “Obviously him mentioning us is something that’s exciting and at the same time, we’re doing it at a lot of different spots. So heading into this year, it’s got to be one of those things that’s evolving as we go. There’s some really good opportunities.”

Former Florida wide receiver Chris Doering thinks both would be best served sitting and learning on the bench for one more year and watching Golson lead the Florida offense.

McElwain could mold him into a late round NFL prospect if he can shore up his ball security and lead the Gators to some wins in the SEC and he admitted it’s exciting to hear Golson is interested in the program where he would compete with Harris and Will Grier.

Harris started the final six games of his freshman season last year, going 4-2 including a win in his first start against Georgia. In total, Harris played in nine games, completing 49.5 percent of his passes for 1,019 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He also added 332 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

He is competing with redshirt freshman Grier who was the nation’s No. 2 pro-style quarterback, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings and holds a slight lead for the starting job after spring practice. But

The upside for Florida is getting an experienced and productive quarterback who has shown he can lead a team with a strong defense. Florida should have a strong defense this year despite the loss of Will Muschamp and defensive end Dante Fowler, Jr.

Golson could help bring out the vast potential in wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and finally bring a competent passing attack to the Swamp and a balanced offense that would help the run game.

However, if Golson were to transfer in, could that signal a transfer for either Harris or Grier?

Harris said he hadn’t given a transfer a thought in April when he returned to campus after missing four spring practices after a family tragedy, but could he have a different tune if he has to sit on the bench this year after starting six games as a true freshman?

Next: Top 8 Fits for Everett Golson?

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