Gunner Kiel to Notre Dame: Does This Lock Up WR Deontay Greenberry Too?

In one of the most shocking developments of the young college football offseason (yes, almost as surprising as Oregon QB Darron Thomas declaring for the 2012 NFL draft), No. 1 QB recruit Gunner Kiel has decided to switch courses yet again. He’s reneged on his commitment to LSU and has instead decided to stay in his home state of Indiana to play for Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Kiel, who played for Indiana’s Columbus East high school and originally committed to Indiana before opening back up his recruitment and subsequently choosing LSU a few weeks ago, caused an Internet firestorm yesterday when he failed to show up for meetings down in Baton Rouge.

Soon, word leaked out that the top-rated high school signal-caller would instead be staying in Indiana to play for the Irish, at the wishes of his parents. Today, Notre Dame officially announced that Kiel was indeed a new addition to the football roster.

Kiel’s arrival in South Bend is great news for Irish fans, who have had to suffer through two years of mediocre quarterback play during the first two seasons of the Brian Kelly era. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kiel come in and give returning starter Tommy Rees and backup Andrew Hendrix a run for their money in a quarterback battle that promises be one of college football's most interesting position competitions this offseason

The addition of a highly-touted prospect of Kiel's caliber is a huge boost for a recruiting class that was already shaping up to be one of the top-rated classes in the country this year.

Brian Kelly has been hard at work assembling another stellar crop of recruits for the team’s 2012 class—one that includes standout prospects such as CB Tee Shepard and DT Sheldon Day, who, like Kiel, have both enrolled early in school. The class also includes other impact recruits such as DT Jarron Jones, S Elijah Shumate and OT Ronnie Stanley.

Besides Kiel, though, the most intriguing prospect in Notre Dame’s 2012 recruiting class is WR Deontay Greenberry out of Washington Union high school in Fresno, California.

Greenberry is considered one of the top receiver prospects in the country by every major recruiting service, and he’s the type of incoming player who could come in and make his presence felt right from the first day of camp.

The big 6’3’’, 180-pound high school senior has the rare size-speed-hands-hops combo that only the truly elite receivers in the country possess. With his size, it shouldn’t take long for him to develop into a deadly red zone target.

Greenberry committed to the Irish back before the summer of 2011, and he’s remained firm on his decision since then, not showing very much serious interest in many other schools outside of a couple visits to places like USC and Arizona State.

With Kiel now in South Bend, that should entice Greenberry to go through with his decision and sign on the dotted line with the Irish on National Signing Day.

One thing’s for sure: If both players live up to their potential and hype, the Kiel-Greenberry passing combination has the chance to be one of the most explosive, exciting and dangerous duos in college football for years to come.