Gunner Kiel: No. 1 Pro-Style Quarterback Commits to Indiana in a Stunning Upset

Gunner Kiel (Columbus, IN), the nation's No. 1 pro-style quarterback and No. 19 overall prospect according to Rivals.com, committed to a perennial losing program on Wednesday afternoon.

The East High School star decided to stay close to home to play his college football and chose the Indiana Hoosiers over Alabama, Oklahoma, and Missouri. 

"It's the biggest recruiting upset since I've been covering recruiting since the 1990s," Rivals.com national analyst Mike Farrell said about Kiel's shocking decision. "The top quarterback in the country, with all these offers from all these major programs decides to stay home and doesn't have the facilities or winning tradition everyone around them is throwing at him? That's an absolute home run for them."

The 4-star prospect is one of the most highly touted prospects to ever commit to Indiana and is likely the best quarterback recruit since Antwaan Randle El back in 1998. Kiel will likely be the Hoosiers starting quarterback in 2012 as a true freshman.

The 6'4" and 220-pound drop-back passer is the 14th commitment and first commitment rated higher than 3 stars in the Hoosiers 2012 recruiting class. 

To put into perspective how big Kiel's commitment is, he is only the second 4-star prospect to commit to Indiana since 2002. 

"It's a tremendous thing for Indiana football," said long-time high school coach Dick Dullaghan, who has worked with Kiel since he was playing in elementary school. "Traditionally, we've had difficulty keeping the very, very top players in our state."

Kiel's commitment not only gives Indiana a great chance at a bowl game in 2012 and beyond, but will also help bring in some other top notch prospects to play alongside the Top 20 prospect. Indiana may have more than just basketball to celebrate in the coming years.

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