Alabama Football: Oklahoma Signs QB, Not Gunner Kiel, Good News for 'Bama?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) On July 13, 2011, Oklahoma got tired of waiting for Gunner Kiel to decide, so they decided to accept the commitment of Trevor Knight, a rivals 4-star quarterback from Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas.

He's a big catch for the Sooners and a big guy—a 6'2'', 195-pound dual threat quarterback and just the kind of guy that Sooner quarterback coach Josh Heupel was wanting. He was considered the fifth best quarterback in the nation, according to Rivals.

And all this is good news for Alabama fans, who saw the Sooners as the main rival for the services of top rated quarterback Gunner Kiel. Now according to all sources worth mentioning, that leaves Alabama in a struggle with Indiana for Kiel.

For the Sooners, they also may be getting Trevor's brother Connor, a 6'5'', 215-pound tight end, to rethink his choice of college and join his brother in Norman, Oklahoma. That would be a good two from one family pick up indeed for Heupel and Stoops as brother Connor, just a 3-star at this point, has plenty of frame yet to fill out and could wind up being a star himself once he gets some more muscle on that tall lanky frame.

For the Tide fans, it gives them hope to have the Sooners out of the way. It's not known who really cooled on who first, but with Oklahoma having taken the commitment of Trevor Knight, it's clear that they've moved on without Kiel.

In the minds of Alabama fans, Indiana just doesn't have the same kind of pull to win against Alabama, but Tide fans may not understand the dynamics that are keeping Indiana in play with Kiel.

His family likes the idea of Indiana; it keeps him in state, where it will be easy to travel to and attend games. Gunner likes the fact that he may could get immediate playing time and that his head coach at Indy has a reputation for grooming quarterbacks like Sam Bradford, who went on to become a first-round draft choice.

And the position coach he would have at Indiana is a former quarterback himself, Coach Rod Smith, who helped develop two super exciting quarterbacks in Michigan's Denard Robinson and West Virginia's Pat White.

But Kiel doesn't have to look far for coaching advice. His father played at Butler University, his oldest brother Drew was on the Indiana State team, his uncle Blair Kiel was the starting quarterback at Notre Dame for four years and played in the NFL, and his second oldest brother, Dusty, is pegged to be the starting quarterback at Indiana University.

And therein may lay the problem for Indiana landing Gunner.

If Gunner goes to Indiana, he puts his brother on the bench. Not to take anything away from his brother Dusty, but he's not the quarterback Gunner is.

That is something that's come up in questions, and Gunner clearly has mixed emotions about that. On one hand, his brother could help him learn the offense as he has throughout his life, but on the other, he'd take his brother's job and spotlight, too. He has been evasive about answering such things directly.

One thing that Kiel said is that Alabama is among his favorites, and that distance will have something to do with his final decision.

Norman, Oklahoma, was 800 miles from his home and almost 13.5 hours away. Alabama is a mere 492 miles from home and only eight hours away. His parents could leave the house at 6:00 a.m. and be in Tuscaloosa for a 3:30 kickoff if they wanted to.

The University of Indiana is just 45 minutes away.

The only other school thought to have at least a fair chance is Missouri, and that campus is about 420 miles or almost seven hours. Not that much difference than to Tuscaloosa.

But with Oklahoma out of the picture, there is reason for Alabama fans to be hopeful. It is thought that Kiel will announce this month, should he pick Indiana. The Tide is still not without a winning hand to be played, and that will simply open the door for Jameis Winston.

Kiel may be the consensus No. 1 pro-style quarterback, but Winston is the consensus No. 1 dual threat quarterback. Odds are Alabama will land one of these two fine young men, so there is really no spilled milk here for Alabama fans to cry over.

They are going to get a winner no matter what. The only decision is, which one?