John Taylor
Two months after pulling his commitment from Indiana and reopening his recruitment, Gunner Kiel has decided on a school a little bit further south than his original choice.
Kiel, the top-rated quarterback in the Class of 2012 according to Rivals.com, announced Tuesday evening that he’s flipping his non-binding verbal commitment to LSU, becoming the 22nd commit in the Tigers’ 2012 class. Back in July, Kiel’s decision reportedly came down to the home-state Hoosiers and Alabama; this time around, Kiel chose the Tigers over Vanderbilt and Notre Dame.
“I woke up Friday morning and knew I wanted to be a Tiger,” Kiel toldMyIndianaFootball.com. “I can’t wait to be a Tiger.”
Kiel will graduate from Columbus (Ind.) East High School early and enroll in college in January, meaning he will be available to participate in spring practice.
With the expiring eligibility of both Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee, Kiel will compete for the starting QB job with, among others, Zach Mettenbergerbeginning in the spring. Mettenberger, a transfer from Georgia, will likely head into those sessions as the early favorite.
In addition to being Rivals‘ top-rated pro-style QB, the recruiting service also rates the 6-4, 220-pound Kiel as the No. 19 prospect at any position in the country. As a senior this past season, Kiel threw for over 2,500 yards, ran for nearly 500 more and combined for 39 touchdowns — 28 passing, 11 rushing.
He had also received scholarship offers from, among others, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, TCU, Tennessee, USC and Wisconsin
Dusty Kiel, one of the high schooler’s two older brothers, is a quarterback at Indiana.
