Gunner Kiel: Nation's Top QB Prospect Reportedly Commits to LSU

Gunner Kiel has finally made his choice, and his choice is to play college ball for Les Miles at LSU.

The news comes straight from 247Sports.com, which has confirmation of Kiel's decision directly from his family. Kiel had also been mulling Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, but he made the choice to go to LSU on Tuesday.

"I can't wait to play in the SEC," said Kiel himself. "A lot of people call it the NFL of college football and it will be an exciting time. It would mean a lot to be a starting quarterback in such a great conference at a great school. I really love the players and the coaching staff. They were all great to me on my visit and seemed very welcoming."

To boot, Kiel will begin taking classes immediately this semester as an early enrollee.

Rivals.com has Kiel rated as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country. The site compares the Columbus, Indiana product to Indianapolis Colts quarterback and former Tennessee great Peyton Manning.

Kiel stands tall at 6'4" and he has a solid 218-pound frame to build on. He projects as an elite pro-style quarterback, though Scout.com claims he could stand to add some arm strength.

The report from 247Sports.com claims Kiel gave late consideration to Arkansas, Purdue and USC before settling on LSU.

Les Miles' current team has capitalized on its elite defense and balanced offense to make it all the way to the BCS National Championship Game, but Miles hasn't had a superior quarterback on his squad for several seasons now. Obviously, that's where Kiel comes in.

To give you an idea how big of an addition this is, Mike Scarborough of TigerBait.com wrote today that Kiel is the "biggest football commitment in Tiger history."