Gunner Kiel: Savior of the Notre Dame Program or Overhyped QB?

Stop the presses, Notre Dame fans, your next big-name quarterback who will lead the Irish back to the promise lands of BCS bowl games and possible national title games may be on the horizon.  

News came out of Indianapolis that five-star quarterback prospect, Gunner Kiel, is re-evaluating his commitment to the University of Indiana.  

His father announced that his son called up IU head coach, Ron Wilson, on Thursday night to tell him that he is rescinding his commitment to the Hoosiers and would visit other schools.  

What other schools, you might be asking?

Well, Gunner may be in the house on Saturday night, as the Irish take on USC under the lights.  

"It's a difficult situation and a tough decision," Kip Kiel said. "Not saying that Indiana isn't still there, but he's going to take some other visits and just open things up."

Gunner’s father said that it’s a “possibility” that his son will take an unofficial visit to Notre Dame this weekend while taking in their game against longtime rival USC. 

His father tried to deflect the attention away from where his son may play his college ball next year by saying that Gunner is more focused on the high school playoffs, "I think that's just where he's at right now," the elder Kiel said. "He's more focused on trying to get ready for the playoffs than anything."

However, with news that this 6’4" 220-pound quarterback prospect is now a "free agent" so to say, Irish fans have to ask themselves, "would it immediately be an improvement over the two players the Irish had starting this year? "

Gunner’s height has him two inches taller than current starter Tommy Rees (6’2") and as a senior, Kiel weighs more than Rees (210 lbs.). 

Let’s say that Gunner commits to play for the Irish in 2012 and has a full offseason to train and condition to prepare for his first full season, Kiel could bulk up to 230-235 before the season starts. 

The kid already has the big arm (completing 55 percent of his passes for 1,755 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions in ’11) but has shown an ability to run, as on the season he’s rushed for 331 yards and 11 touchdowns. 

Notre Dame better put the full-court press on the Kiel family if they are making their visit this weekend. Schools that recruited Gunner before, like Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Tennessee, will be gunning for the prized quarterback again. 

One player does not make a team a national title contender or guarantee them a spot in a BCS bowl game. But think about how hard teams have fallen since they lost their great quarterback.

Teams like the University of Texas, since they lost Vince Young and Colt McCoy. Or Florida after they lost Tim Tebow. Or even Notre Dame, after they lost Brady Quinn.

Three teams that, since they lost those quarterbacks, all have not been back to a BCS bowl game.

Kiel could be that missing piece to an Irish team that is very close to being a national title contender. Or, he could be another quarterback that has a lot of hype but fails to live up to expectations, like Jimmy Clausen. 

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