Everett Golson injury: Brian Kelly expects QB to play vs. BYU

Unable to finish out Saturday's thrilling overtime victory over Stanford, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson reportedly suffered a concussion and is still experiencing symptoms, according to J.J. Stankevitz of CSNChicago.com.

Though Irish head coach Brian Kelly believes that his talented signal caller will eventually be cleared to hit the field this weekend to face the BYU Cougars, Kelly was still bothered by Golson's dismal performance before the injury. And with three costly turnovers in a game that was once again finished out by teammate Tommy Rees, Golson's concussion couldn't have come at a worse time in his bid to retain his starting job.

"Very concerned," Kelly said of Golson's turnovers. "It's something that obviously we cannot continue to have. He's got to take better care of the football, and he's got to do it in practice, and he's got to be smarter."

Rees finished 4-for-4 with the game-winning touchdown pass to wideout T.J. Jones, and if nothing else, firmly solidified his role of closer in Kelly's offense with the performance. The Irish are optimistic that Golson will be cleared to practice fully on Tuesday, and could still opt to give him a start against BYU even if he isn't able to practice until Wednesday or Thursday.

"Both of them could play," Kelly said. "I wouldn't rule it out. But we're probably putting too much on this. I'm really confident Everett will be cleared. "

Despite offering a dual-threat ability not present with Rees, Golson has only managed to find the endzone on six occasions after six weeks of the season. While both Kelly and Rees each appear fully comfortable with their current arrangement, a lack of improvement from Golson over the next few days may actually force Rees to play a full 60-minute game.