Notre Dame's Golson reads his keys and plays them too

• Everett Golson doesn't just name that tune, he can play it too
• Notre Dame sophomore quarterback is still learning his position in a starting role
• Notre Dame's passing offense, rated 98th nationally, will face the nation's ninth-best pass defense

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Welcome to Friday night at the Irish Improv. On the piano, as always, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson. Pull up a chair and take a listen.

At Notre Dame's team hotel on the night before games, the scene is always the same. After the team meal, Golson heads to the piano and takes requests. He tickles the ivories until closing time, otherwise known as bed check. All that's missing is a tip jar, otherwise known as an NCAA violation.

Teammates upload songs on their phone, put it to their quarterback's ear and in an instant, he's mastered it. "He'll just start hitting keys," linebacker Manti Te'o said Wednesday, "and after a minute he'll start playing the whole song, from J. Cole to Boyz II Men, there's nothing Everett can't play. That's talent."

When No. 5 Notre Dame (7-0) faces No. 7 Oklahoma (5-1) on Saturday, Golson will need to be just as talented in the biggest test of his young career. After suffering a concussion two weeks ago against Stanford and sitting out last weekend against BYU, Golson will return to his starting role.

Notre Dame has won on the strength of its sixth-ranked defense and will face a Sooners offense that is averaging 52 points in its past three wins. The Irish's passing offense, which ranks 98th in FBS, will be challenged by Oklahoma's ninth ranked passing defense.

"The defense has kept us in a lot of games," said Irish left tackle Zack Martin, "but in games like this against Oklahoma, we're going to have to put some points up because their offense is very explosive and we know we're going to have to start pulling away a little bit more. Our offense has done just enough all year just to win. It's our turn to step up,"

After a game of musical chairs at quarterback in the preseason, coach Brian Kelly settled on Golson, a 6-0, 195-pound sophomore from Myrtle Beach, S.C., a dual-threat as a passer/runner and pianist/drummer.

"In my 22 years, he's probably one of the most unique young men I've coached at the position," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "He's a wonderful musician and he plays all types of music without reading music."

In his first year as a starter, Golson's performance has been both brilliant and baffling. He has rushed for 81 yards and two scores and passed for 968 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

"The quarterback position is a combination of art and science, and he's got the art part down," Kelly said. "The challenge is bringing the science into it. The discipline and football, the progressions, mastering all the details of the position. If you just let him go, he's beautiful to watch, but it could end up being a disaster.

"People say, 'Why isn't he further along?' Well, he's such a unique person that when he blends both, you'll just sit back and say, 'I'm just going to listen to him.' He's a challenge. He's really, really a challenge. People say, 'You can't get your freshman quarterback ready? What are you doing?' We're like, he's still cooking. We shouldn't take him out of the oven yet. He's still cooking."

Kelly has learned to use different methods to coach Golson. Because junior quarterback Tommy Rees, who started against BYU, is a coach's son, Kelly knows that he can get in Rees' face because, "Tommy is used to having someone chewing on him."

With Golson, Kelly channels his inner Tom Landry and puts the hot-tempered Irishman on ice. He lets Golson process the mistake instead of saying, "Do it this way or the highway."

"Each kid is different," Kelly explained.

To beat the Sooners, the Irish could use a breakout performance from their creative quarterback. "He's shown moments where he's been very good," Martin said, "but I don't think people have seen what we've seen in practice, he can do a lot of special things."

And if that happens Saturday? Music to Kelly's ears.