Gunner Kiel to Notre Dame: 3 Reasons He Won't Start in 2012

Since Notre Dame's season ended in disappointing fashion with a loss to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl back in December, head coach Brian Kelly has been hard at work trying to assemble another highly rated recruiting class with his 2012 crop of talent. 

Kelly has already reeled in commitments from some of the top-rated prospects at their respective positions, such as WR Deontay Greenberry, CB Tee Shepard, S Elijah Shumate and DT Sheldon Day. 

But it's the rumored recruiting coup that could land the nation's No. 1 quarterback recruit Gunner Kiel—who played his high school ball at Indiana's Columbus East high school—in South Bend instead of Baton Rouge, where he was expected to start classes at LSU this week. 

Although neither the school nor the Kiel camp has made an official statement regarding the situation yet, if the rumors are true, the former Indiana commit's second change of heart will certainly be one of the biggest stories in college football over the next few weeks.

Many have already poked fun at Kiel for potentially reneging on another commitment, but Notre Dame fans certainly will have nothing to complain about if he does end up in an Irish uniform in 2012.

The question is, though, if Kiel does end up enrolling at Notre Dame some time over these next few days after a long and strange recruiting saga, will he be able to snatch away the starting quarterback job from Tommy Rees?

Well, here's a look at a few reasons that you probably won't see Gunner Kiel leading the Notre Dame offense next season. 

The Battle Will Be Between Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix

There's definitely going to be a quarterback battle in South Bend this offseason, but it's going to be between last year's starter Tommy Rees and intriguing backup Andrew Hendrix. 

Neither Rees nor Hendrix were all that impressive in the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State, as the two combined to throw three interceptions in the loss.

But, even though neither of them went into the offseason with much momentum, coach Brian Kelly has been able to see both players compete in practice these past few years. Kelly knows what each is capable of and what each has to offer. 

Rees certainly didn't have a dream 2011 campaign by any stretch of the imagination. But, if he performs well enough in spring ball and in camp in August, he should be able to hang onto his job because he's the most stable option Kelly has. 

Brian Kelly Can’t Afford to Start an Inexperienced Freshman

After leading his team to consecutive mediocre 8-5 campaigns in his first two years in South Bend, 2012 is shaping up to be a make-or-break type of season for Brian Kelly and Notre Dame.

Kelly can't afford to throw a true freshman quarterback into the fire and live with the consequences of having to endure his growing pains. 

Irish fans will be expecting their team to compete for a BCS bowl berth and a double-digit win season in 2012. If Kelly puts Kiel in charge of the offense, the chances of meeting either of those two goals becomes greatly reduced. 

Kelly is confident in the quarterbacks he already has. The coach showed last year that he values experience when he installed Dayne Crist as the opening-day starter, even though that was a move that ultimately ended up backfiring. 

Gunner Kiel’s Got Some Growing Up to Do

One of the key traits you look for in a successful quarterback is his decision-making.

So far, we haven't seen a whole lot of great decision-making out of Kiel, as he's apparently now on his third school.

Every year, dozens of highly touted high school prospects switch commitments during the recruiting process from one school to another, but rarely do we see a recruit that's as highly rated as Gunner Kiel switch his decision twice in the span of a few months. 

Kiel has already been the butt of plenty of jokes over the past few hours, and his indecisiveness is sure to be even more ridiculed in the coming weeks if he does ultimately end up at Notre Dame, as reported.

No one knows the reason as to why Kiel would renege on his pledge to LSU after sounding so firm in his commitment at the U.S. Army All-American game just a week ago. Michael Scarborough of Rivals.com/TigerBait.com told USA Today that he believes that Kiel is staying in Indiana because his mother wants him to. 

If that is the case, it's an understandable reason, as no kid wants to make a decision that will upset their parents. But Kiel is an adult now, and it's time for him to start making his own decisions. 

Just like any other freshman making the transition from high school to college, Kiel's going to have some growing up to do in South Bend.

It will be interesting to see how he matures and develops over these next few years, if he does end up at Notre Dame.