Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly will not let how he is handling his quarterbacks turn into a controversy.
Kelly pulled starter Everett Golson after two first-half interceptions for Tommy Rees in the No. 10 Irish's 13-6 win over Michigan on Saturday night.
But just like when Rees took over for Golson on the final drive in a 20-17 win over Purdue on Sept. 8, Kelly said immediately after the game that Golson will continue to start.
During his teleconference on Sunday, Kelly went into more detail on why he chose to remove Golson after the fifth offensive series against Michigan.
"I think it was a careless mistake, one that was uncharacteristic of how he had practiced and how he performed," Kelly said of Golson's second interception of the game in Michigan's end zone. "I felt like I needed to make a decision for the best interest of our team in winning that game."
On Sunday, Kelly also pointed out again that Golson, who has only played in four games after sitting out last year, is still adjusting to being a starter and student.
"He had a lot on his plate this week," said Kelly, who after Saturday's game referenced Golson having three exams and four papers to deal with. "It may have been a little bit too much for him, so that's why I think if you look back on it, those things are going to occur, and we just have to continue to monitor him on a week to week basis as it relates to his academics because these guys are challenged each and every week."
Kelly also said each week he will make what he feels is the best decision on who will play quarterback during a game.
"We're 4-0, so I'd say that having Tommy in there the two times that he did play, if you measure it from that standpoint, it's worked out OK," Kelly said. "I've made this pretty clear every time that this is brought up, you want to go with one quarterback. But we have a freshman quarterback who's experiencing being a young quarterback. The only time I can prop him up with a guy that's a veteran to win a football game, where we are in this to win it and we'll do that."
