Gunner Kiel, the top-rated quarterback in the 2012 signing class, enrolled at Notre Dame on Tuesday. Kiel had committed to LSU.Nearly 29,000 students began spring semester classes Tuesday at LSU, but Gunner Kiel was not among them.
The nation’s No. 1 high school quarterback prospect committed to the Tigers late last month but enrolled Tuesday at Notre Dame, a program rich in tradition but just 31-31 the past five seasons. His uncle, Blair Kiel, quarterbacked the Irish from 1980 to ’83 and was the starter most of that time until getting supplanted his senior season by freshman Steve Beuerlein.
“This recruitment process was a roller-coaster ride at times, but I know I have made the right decision for my family and me,” Gunner Kiel said Tuesday through a Notre Dame release. “There were three critical elements I was looking for in my future school — the quality of education I would receive, the distance from home and the comfort level I would have with the players and coaches in the football program. Notre Dame was the perfect fit for me, because it hit all three areas.”
He threw for 2,517 yards and 28 touchdowns this past season in leading Columbus East to Indiana’s Class 4A semifinals. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder also rushed for 482 yards and 11 scores.
Rivals.com’s top pro-style quarterback and No. 20 overall prospect committed in July to Indiana, where older brother Dusty plays quarterback and had starts this past season against Penn State and Illinois. He reneged on his nonbinding pledge to the Hoosiers in October.