Gunner Kiel: Mother's Notre Dame Plea Will Cost QB Prospect

When his college career is over, Gunner Kiel will regret listening to his mother. Spurning LSU in favor of Notre Dame will be a bad thing for the prized recruit and his chances to succeed as a football player.

Glenn Guilbeau of USA Today quoted Michael Scarborough of Rivals.com, saying that Kiel's mother does not want him to leave Indiana. 

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He wants to come to LSU, but his mother (Aleta Kiel) got very emotional Monday and did not want her son to leave. He plans to enroll in classes at Notre Dame on Tuesday.

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Since Scarborough reported that news, Bryan D. Fischer of CBSSports has reported that Kiel has enrolled at Notre Dame.

LSU can't land on the right end of the wishes of any mothers out there. We are weeks removed from Landon Collins going to Alabama over LSU despite his mom's wishes. 

Now, Kiel is listening to his mother. While Kiel's mom may not want her son to leave the comforts of Indiana, Notre Dame is not the best fit for his skills.

The best comparison that can be drawn to Kiel is Ben Roethlisberger. He is a big guy and capable of moving around, but not what you would call a dual-threat quarterback—not the kind of player that's going to succeed in Brian Kelly's system.

He would be a better fit at Notre Dame if Charlie Weis was coaching there, or at least if most of Weis' players were there. 

But the 2012 season will be played without Michael Floyd, who led the team with 100 catches and 1,147 yards. The second- and third-leading receivers (Tyler Eifert and Theo Riddick) will be gone after the 2012 season.

Sure, the team will have receivers, but they won't be the right fit for Kiel and his skills.

From a football perspective, the better fit for Kiel would be LSU. Michael Ford and Spencer Ware each had over 700 yards receiving in the 2011 season. This came despite the fact that they went against SEC defenses all year and had a quarterback in Jordan Jefferson who was primarily a runner. 

Those kind of weapons won't be there at Notre Dame long-term. With Les Miles recruiting at LSU, the receivers will always be strong. 

Notre Dame is best suited to have a quarterback that can pass, but who's more mobile than Kiel. Kiel is the kind of quarterback that can run to save a busted play, but not one that you can put runs into the game plan for. 

The players that Kelly recruits will be ones that can catch passes but won't thrive in a pro-style offense, which is what Kiel ran in high school.

The fit of Kiel and Notre Dame is a B-. His natural talent won't allow for the signing to be a bust, but the fit isn't right to be an unqualified success. 

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