Kelly: Starting quarterback will be "game-time decision"

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Thursday that he won’t decide on which quarterback will start against BYU until the day of the game.

Redshirt freshman Everett Golson, who has started all six games this season, suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s overtime win over Stanford. He returned to practice on Wednesday, but Kelly said he’s playing it safe and returning him to action gradually.

“I want to see Everett for 48 hours,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a cookie-cutter approach to concussions.”

Kelly said that if Golson can’t play, either Tommy Rees or Andrew Hendrix could start.

“Game-time decision,” he said. “Andrew had a good week. They’re all at that level where I can consider them.”

Kelly insisted he was just being cautious with Golson, whom he said performed better Thursday than he did on Wednesday. Friday’s practice will be mostly red zone work, and Kelly will continue to evaluate his progress.

“We’re monitoring his health,” Kelly said. “This is about health and safety. This isn’t about who the starting quarterback is.”