Everett Golson took another step toward his return to football action for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and participated in his first practice since his suspension.

According to ESPN, Golson called the experience "surreal" after the team's first spring practice Monday. His media appearance was also the first time speaking publicly since he returned to campus.

In late Oct., Golson confirmed to Sports Illustrated that cheating was the "academic violation" that lead to his suspension for a full semester. He began taking classes once again at Notre Dame in January and will compete for the starting quarterback job this spring.

"I want to say surreal in a sense," Golson told ESPN. "I felt accomplished for a split moment, that I went through what I went through and now I'm back and I'm moving forward now and still continuing that process of trying to grind and be better."

Golson used the time away from school to spend two months in San Diego training with QB guru Gary Whitfield Jr. to come back better than ever. He also said other schools tried to persuade him into transferring, but he never considered leaving South Bend.

"No, not at all," he said. "I knew I messed up, so for me I had to come back and complete what I started."

As a freshman, Golson led Notre Dame to the BCS National Championship game in 2013, where they lost to Alabama. During the 2012 season, Notre Dame was better regarded for their defense than they were offense. Still, Golson threw for 2,405, ran for 298 and scored 18 total touchdowns.

Coach Brian Kelly told the Associated Press Golson appears to have a better handle on the offensive playbook this year than he did two seasons ago.

"I can talk to him about things that I didn't believe I could talk to him about relative to protections, hot routes, just the nuances of the game," said Kelly. "So clearly he has evolved there."

Golson may have the inside track to become the starting QB as opposed to sophomore Malik Zaire and senior Charlie Fiessinger, who do not have much game experience. However, Kelly said this spring will be just as important for Zaire, who did not play as a freshman while Tommy Rees started.

"It's a huge spring for Malik Zaire. Huge," Kelly told the AP. "He's got to step up. He's got to show a maturity level in terms of leadership, taking over the offense, and he's got to practice as if he's the starter... He's got to practice with the vision of him being the starter against Rice."

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