Everett Golson
Q. Is it relief? Is it motivation? How are you feeling now that you know that it's official?
EVERETT GOLSON: I don't know if I would call it relief. I think it's a heightened responsibility on my part knowing that everything is pretty set for week one and I am the starter. It's my job to get these guys right on the offense and just try to lead this team.
Q. Does it feel different than the first time you were told two years ago?
EVERETT GOLSON: I mean, like I said, it's just a heightened responsibility. In 2012, I think it was more kind of the first time around and things so you feel kind of accomplished. I think in this instance I feel a little accomplished as well, but like I said, I understand the job and the task at hand and what I have to do next.
Q. Did you ever doubt you'd be the starter?
EVERETT GOLSON: I don't think I prepared like a back‑up. I'll just say that. So I tried to prepare the best way I could and prepare every day like a starter.
Q. Does having the job allow you to approach practice or the way you talk with the team or run the huddle differently now?
EVERETT GOLSON: No, I think that's one of the things that Coach Kelly kind of saw in me that allowed him to make that decision was just my control of the huddle, just holding each other accountable and most of my teammates. I think those things that allowed him to make that decision.
Q. When did Coach tell you you were going to start?
EVERETT GOLSON: He told me Monday, must have been Monday. He told me Monday. Like I said initially, obviously, you feel a sense of accomplishment, but at the same time, like I said before, it's just that you know you have to go to work now. You know I have to do my best to prepare for Rice and week one. One thing we saw is that job is not something solid. You come out and play bad week one, and it's up for grabs. You've got to know that going into it. So I think I've just got to do the best to prepare.
Q. Did you get a visor this time around?
EVERETT GOLSON: Yeah, I've been wearing a visor for a while.
Q. Isn't that how he let you know a couple years ago?
EVERETT GOLSON: Yeah. He did say that when I got my first start when I was named the starter I got a visor. But ever since then I kind of had a visor on, and I don't think that factored into it.
Q. Everett, did you feel the need to talk to Malik about the decision or is that not what your relationship's like?
EVERETT GOLSON: I have not talked to him yet, to be honest. I will talk to him about it. I think me and Malik do have that relationship where I can go to him and talk to him about things, and we handle it amongst ourselves rather than having it come down from Coach Kelly and things like that.
Q. A couple years ago it wasn't until the second month where you started becoming more of a factor. There was so much talk about you working with George. How much more comfortable do you feel as a runner in this game, because Coach Kelly said it's going to be used?
EVERETT GOLSON: Yeah, well, I think running was a little bit different from what I was used to. Coming out of high school, I was a passer. Didn't really run the ball too much and then it was kind of implemented, and I guess expected of me to run in 2012. Now I'm getting more comfortable with that and I'm becoming more of a dual‑threat quarterback in that sense.
Q. What's been the most difficult part of the process from spring until now as far as getting to this point?
EVERETT GOLSON: As far as?
Q. Getting better or the waiting or what was the most difficult thing that you had to do over the summer to put yourself in this position?
EVERETT GOLSON: What was the most difficult? I don't know. I mean, I think my mindset was just to try to get better every day. You come out the spring, and obviously I didn't have a good spring game, as good a spring as I wanted to have. But my motto was to try to get better every day and become more of a leader, and really take control of this offense, really. So I knew that once I achieved that, I would put myself in a position to be the starter.
Q. Going on that a little bit, can you put in perspective to be at this point from where you were 18 months ago or so to kind of being back to being a starting quarterback and what that's meant to you in everything?
EVERETT GOLSON: I think regardless, it's an accomplishment. Knowing everything that's transpired from me getting suspended to me coming back and the battle with Malik for a while there, yeah, it is a sense of accomplishment. But I think my mind is so set on moving forward and what's next that, like I said, I'm just trying to get ready for week one and prepare to the best of my ability.
Q. Coach Kelly said your leadership was one of the factors in his decision. How much more assertive are you now than you were two years ago, and how does being older influence that?
EVERETT GOLSON: I think it works‑‑ I don't want to say it works wonders, but I think me taking that responsibility as one of the senior leaders, I take that responsibility that this is my team and I'm responsible for the actions or the performance of our team. I think in 2012 we had guys like Zack Martin, Manti, those guys. That was hard for me to crack into that top level being that I was young and it was my first time around. So two years later it's just completely different. I mean really different in that respect.
Q. Do you feel you're a different leader than you were in the spring when you got back?
EVERETT GOLSON: Yeah, and that comes from preparation, just knowing more. I think in the spring a lot of things were moving around. You had a new defensive coordinator come in and throwing new defenses, new blitz and things like that. I had a new quarterback coach come in, so that was something different for me too. I think after the spring is when I went back to the film room and was working with Coach LaFleur and those guys and really just honing into what we were trying to do with this offense. I think now I'm in a position to kind of hold everybody else responsible because I'm comfortable in what I'm supposed to do.
Q. How critical was summer in that development, because that's when the coaches aren't really around?
EVERETT GOLSON: Right, right. I think one of the times that was very important for me was just seven on seven, to be honest, coordinating seven on sevens among the players because I was out there leading them along with some of the other guys. But just really trying to have effective seven on sevens and having the defense giving us good looks, and having the receivers run things right, I think that's what really heightened my leadership.
Q. When you first came back here and many people outside the building at least assumed this day would come and you'd be named starter, was it more difficult in your vision, how much did Malik push you?
EVERETT GOLSON: Malik is a tremendous quarterback. I think when he does good on the field, he's going to shine. It was very, very tight, I would say, and it was a close conversation. But like I've said, and I've always said it before, I'm confident in my ability. The competitor in me wants to win, so that's kind of what it is.