'12 IN QB Gunner Kiel (Cincinnati Transfer)

[jason_h537]

I believe i read that Kiel and Huepel have gotten pretty tight

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

My gut feeling on this is that he will be a Sooner!

 

[NCDomer]

Oops.

 

[Sweetness34]

I really don't care where Gunner goes. This quarterback class is weak and in any other year he wouldn't be the #1 QB. I'll be glad if he comes to ND but if not Mauk will be fine.

 

[Rocket89]

Hehe...his Dad's name is Kip.

 

[Mirer3Powlus]

I really don't care where Gunner goes. This quarterback class is weak and in any other year he wouldn't be the #1 QB. I'll be glad if he comes to ND but if not Mauk will be fine.

What? Kiel, Winston, and Pike are all better prospects than anyone coming out of the '10 and '11 classes was. This is definitely a rebound year for quarterbacks.

 

[Sweetness34]

What? Kiel, Winston, and Pike are all better prospects than anyone coming out of the '10 and '11 classes was. This is definitely a rebound year for quarterbacks.

This isn't something we can really argue about, it's all opinion until the rankings come out so I'll wait until then to rebut. Either way I'm not worried about if Gunner comes to ND or not, he's not the can't miss, program changing ,head and shoulders above the rest QB. ND is good shape at the QB position whether he comes to ND or not.

 

[woolybug25]

I really don't care where Gunner goes. This quarterback class is weak and in any other year he wouldn't be the #1 QB. I'll be glad if he comes to ND but if not Mauk will be fine.

I'm with Mirer on this one. This class has a ton of great QB's in it. Usually, there is a lot more speculation on who should be the #1 QB (sometimes there never is a consensus). This year, pretty much everyone has Kiel as #1, with only a couple outliers, but even those have him teetering at #1. He is an outstanding prospect who should have a great college career.

Furthermore, it is a great QB class for Notre Dame. We have a shot with a ton of guys that have immense talent.

 

[Mirer3Powlus]

This isn't something we can really argue about, it's all opinion until the rankings come out so I'll wait until then to rebut. Either way I'm not worried about if Gunner comes to ND or not, he's not the can't miss, program changing ,head and shoulders above the rest QB. ND is good shape at the QB position whether he comes to ND or not.

You can't really compare rankings from a year to year basis, but I think it's safe to say that had Kiel graduated in 2010 or 2011 then he would surely be above Jake Heaps or Jeff Driskel. That's all I'm saying. I don't think he's on the level of Clausen or Barkley, but probably even with Gabbert and Crist in '08.

I agree that Kiel's commitment won't make or break Notre Dame's future, but an in-state prospect that grew up pretty close to South Bend and is clearly the top quarterback in his class should be very high on our wish lists... were he born in Alabama or Texas, then you can be sure that he'd be rolling with the Tide or pledging to be a Longhorn by now. I hope that Notre Dame under Kelly can do the same with the elite players from Indiana.

 

[ACamp1900]

If he goes to OU that would be a great consolation prize as the wife is a Sooner... so long as he doesn't beat us next year or the year after... ro whenever we play them...

I have believed for a while that Mauk will be our guy in the long run anyway... time will tell.

 

[aubeirish]

If he goes to OU that would be a great consolation prize as the wife is a Sooner... so long as he doesn't beat us next year or the year after... ro whenever we play them...

I have believed for a while that Mauk will be our guy in the long run anyway... time will tell.

I would feel very comfortable going into the game if Oklahoma were to put a true freshman at quarterback.

 

[IrishLax]

What? Kiel, Winston, and Pike are all better prospects than anyone coming out of the '10 and '11 classes was. This is definitely a rebound year for quarterbacks.

If Pike is so good why didn't Kelly even offer him?

 

[Mirer3Powlus]

If Pike is so good why didn't Kelly even offer him?

Maybe because we never really had much of a shot at him? Pike was all SEC from the beginning and everyone knew it. As a Kentucky resident myself, I've also heard that he's a punk and has questionable grades.

Brian Kelly, for all he has done for this program so far, isn't the ultimate judge of talent in the world of football either. Every top program in the country offered Pike except us... does Nick Saban not know what he's doing?

 

[ACamp1900]

I would feel very comfortable going into the game if Oklahoma were to put a true freshman at quarterback.

as would I... as comfortable as I could in a game against OU anyway... at this point I just hope we can steal ONE of those games so I don't have to hear it from her family. The Texas matchup is the same thing but worse... one half of her family (including her) are OU alums, the other half are non alum blow hard miopic Horns fans...

please don't let us go 0-4 in those games.

 

[aubeirish]

Maybe because we never really had much of a shot at him? Pike was all SEC from the beginning and everyone knew it. As a Kentucky resident myself, I've also heard that he's a punk and has questionable grades.

Brian Kelly, for all he has done for this program so far, isn't the ultimate judge of talent in the world of football either. Every top program in the country offered Pike except us... does Nick Saban not know what he's doing?

The great thing about Kelly's recruiting is his ability to find the right fit for his program, which compliment the way he runs things. Kelly understands that he needs a certain type of individuals to be successful. Especially with the rigorous environment of Notre Dame. With the things we hear about Pike, I bet it's the reason he is not receiving a lot of love from ND.

 

[NDinL.A.]

What? Kiel, Winston, and Pike are all better prospects than anyone coming out of the '10 and '11 classes was. This is definitely a rebound year for quarterbacks.

Sorry, I gotta call major B.S. on this. If you go by Scout, in 2010 there were 4 5 star QBs, with Heaps already starting, Sims on the verge of starting at Alabama, and Devon Gardner getting minutes last year at Michigan. In 2011, there were also 4 5 stars, with guys like Braxton Miller and Jeff Driskel, both considered to be Qbs of the near future of their programs. This is NOT considered a rebound year for QBs...in fact it's the same as the last 2 years. There are currently 3 5 star QBs (things can change and will change of course)...how is that a rebound year?

As for Pike and Winston being better prospects than anyone coming out of those classes...how can you say that? Heaps was the 21st best player overall according to Scout, and he is already starting (and really picked it up by the end of the year - QUIET WOOLY!!! ) and Pike and Winston are both behind him there. You can make a case for equal (on paper - again, Heaps is already starting), but better? How?

And even if you go by Tom Lemming (who loves QBs and has Pike #2 overall), he had 3 guys ranked ahead of where he has Winston this year, and 5 guys higher than where he has Pike.

So, you go by 2 services, and they both say that there are several QBs in both 2010 and 2011 that ranked higher than Pike and Winston are this year. They also agree that Kiel is a stud.

 

[Mirer3Powlus]

Scout's rankings for quarterbacks are generally crap, for the lack of a better word... if you can throw a ball with consistency, then they'll slap the five star label on you. Since 2002, Rivals has had 25 or so five star quarterbacks as compared to Scout with about 40 or 45.

I usually lean towards Rivals as being the more accurate site for quarterback rankings, but that's just my opinion. From the tape I watch, I see Winston as being better than Miller and Gardner (although Gardner's potential is through the roof) and Pike clearly has more physical ability than Heaps. He and Driskel are probably a wash.

Kiel is a step above all of them.

Article that talks about the Rivals vs Scout system: Rivals 100: Breaking Down Five-Star Quarterbacks Since 2002 | Bleacher Report

 

[rtrn2glory]

i tend to agree with rivals on all rankings...you're right scout simply has too many five star rankings at every position annually. I'm sure there's a lot of good players out there, but a five star should be absolutely the most elite and best. imo the fewer five stars the more accurate the site's scouting reports.

 

[Mirer3Powlus]

Thought this would be interesting; just pulled these up by myself:


Scout.com Five Stars:

2002

Vince Young
Trent Edwards
Ben Olson
Reggie McNeal
Gavin Dickey

2003

John David Booty
Kyle Wright
Chris Leak
JaMarcus Russell

2004

Rhett Bomar
Xavier Lee
Anthony Morelli
Chad Henne

2005

Mark Sanchez
Ryan Perrilloux
Jonathan Crompton
Joe Ayoob (JC)

2006

Mitch Mustain
Matthew Stafford
Tim Tebow
Brent Schaeffer (JC)

2007

Jimmy Clausen
Ryan Mallett
Aaron Corp
Tyrod Taylor
Kodi Burns
Pat Bostick

2008

Terrelle Pryor
EJ Manuel
Dayne Crist
Andrew Luck
Kevin Craft (JC)

2009

Matt Barkley
Russell Shepard
Aaron Murray
Tajh Boyd
Garrett Gilbert

2010

Jake Heaps
Phillip Sims
Paul Jones
Blake Bell
Devin Gardner


Rivals Five Star Quarterbacks

2002

Vince Young
Ben Olson
Marcus Vick
Trent Edwards
James Banks

2003

Kyle Wright

2004

Rhett Bomar
Xavier Lee
Anthony Morrelli
Chad Henne
Matthew Tuiasosopo

2005

Mark Sanchez
Ryan Perrilloux

2006

Matthew Stafford
Mitch Mustain
Tim Tebow
Brent Schaeffer (JC)

2007

Jimmy Clausen
Ryan Mallett
Tyrod Taylor
Cam Newton

2008

Terrelle Pryor
Blaine Gabbert
Dayne Crist

2009

Matt Barkley
Russell Shepard
Garrett Gilbert

2010

Cam Newton (JC)

2011

NONE

........

Basically, it seems that Scout is easier to impress while Rivals is stricter with the five star label. Tuiasosopo chose to play baseball out of high school, so you can throw his ranking out. Booty would have surely been a five star for Rivals if he had actually been in the class of 2003, but he graduated a year early and therefore they didn't assign him a ranking. Both have a few head scratchers throughout, but half of Scout's 2007 class was awful and their 2010 edition is yet to be seen, but half of those guys weren't even close for Rivals. The general consensus after going through both lists is that Rivals is better and Scout is over zealous with the five star label.

Hope this was an interesting read!

 

[GBdomer]

Notre Dame is still thought to be Indiana prospect's favorite.

this was on ESPN's rumor's board this morning.

 

[johnnykillz]

We have a fair shot. Especially considering how well we should fare this season.

 

[IrishLax]

Maybe because we never really had much of a shot at him? Pike was all SEC from the beginning and everyone knew it. As a Kentucky resident myself, I've also heard that he's a punk and has questionable grades.

Brian Kelly, for all he has done for this program so far, isn't the ultimate judge of talent in the world of football either. Every top program in the country offered Pike except us... does Nick Saban not know what he's doing?

What a load of crap. Kelly has no trouble going into "SEC" territory or anywhere else in the nation to get a recruit. Plus this talk of him being "all SEC" is just a load of junk in its own right.

You don't have to trust Kelly infallibly... but you do have to recognize that he has an incredible/very recent family connection to the Pikes and didn't even extend Zeke an offer much less recruit him hard. So to say he is better than every QB in '10 and '11 is laughable.

Kiel is an elite prospect but it is very hard to compare him year-to-year with other guys. I have a feeling we will get a better idea as the year progresses of exactly how these QBs stack up relative to each other per the different recruiting services.

 

[Mirer3Powlus]

What a load of crap. Kelly has no trouble going into "SEC" territory or anywhere else in the nation to get a recruit. Plus this talk of him being "all SEC" is just a load of junk in its own right.

You don't have to trust Kelly infallibly... but you do have to recognize that he has an incredible/very recent family connection to the Pikes and didn't even extend Zeke an offer much less recruit him hard. So to say he is better than every QB in '10 and '11 is laughable.

Kiel is an elite prospect but it is very hard to compare him year-to-year with other guys. I have a feeling we will get a better idea as the year progresses of exactly how these QBs stack up relative to each other per the different recruiting services.

Calm down... how dare I have a different opinion than you. What is laughable about it? Everyone knows that the 2010 and 2011 classes were weak for quarterbacks, and Kelly not extending an offer to Pike could mean that he was judging the young man's character (which many people are lately) instead of his playing ability.

I have family that lives in northern Kentucky and it was well known in those parts that Pike and his family wanted to stay south. You don't have to believe it, but I was told from the very beginning of his recruitment that he was waiting for a southern school to wow him, which is why I never expected Notre Dame to even be in the picture. Kelly not offering him doesn't mean he's not a tremendous prospect (which he is), it means that he had his eye on other elite prospects at the position that we have a far better chance of netting. If we choose not to recruit someone, that doesn't mean they automatically suck...

 

[Ironman8]

Notre Dame is still thought to be Indiana prospect's favorite.

this was on ESPN's rumor's board this morning.

This is ESPN's tidbit, it is basically a summary of the article I posted yesterday:

ESPNU 150 Watch List QB Gunner Kiel of Indiana is thought to be leaning toward Notre Dame, but because he doesn't say a lot about his recruitment, it's difficult to get a true read on where things stand. Instead, ESPN's Corey Long asked for Kiel's thoughts on four of the schools recruiting him, which could very well be his top four at the moment: Indiana, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

Paraphrasing Kiel, the Hoosiers are his home-state school and could start his brother Dusty at QB; the Wolverines lack a pro-style QB for their new pro-style offense; Kiel seems to have the longest-standing relationship with Irish coach Brian Kelly; and he's impressed by the Sooners' track record at QB.

Kiel is ranked the No. 1 QB in the country by both Scout.com and 247Sports.com. Scout has him as the No. 17 overall prospect, while 247Sports slots him at No. 10.

 

[IrishLax]

This is ESPN's tidbit, it is basically a summary of the article I posted yesterday:

Good info (as always). I stand by my "gut" feeling that if somehow we don't get Mauk to commit first + have a good season with Dayne that we end up with Kiel. Time will tell and it is all probably a moot point considering Mauk, by all accounts, will pull the trigger first.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

Really would love to land this kid. I think this kid is the real deal and I would love for us to land him. It really will be interesting to see if Mauk commits. I agree with IrishLAX that if Mauk commits, then we won't get Kiel.

 

[Ironman8]

Good info (as always). I stand by my "gut" feeling that if somehow we don't get Mauk to commit first + have a good season with Dayne that we end up with Kiel. Time will tell and it is all probably a moot point considering Mauk, by all accounts, will pull the trigger first.

100% sure if Mauk commits to ND we are out in the eyes of Kiel. There is a lot of talk around Kiel that he has made it evident that he does not want to go into any program taking another QB this year. He wants to be the only one in his class. If you are the #1 at your position, and have worked incredibly hard to get there, you can make these type of "demands" out of recruiting schools. I have absolutely no problem with it, I am just stating that it looks pretty clear he will not come here if another QB commits.

 

[aubeirish]

100% sure if Mauk commits to ND we are out in the eyes of Kiel. There is a lot of talk around Kiel that he has made it evident that he does not want to go into any program taking another QB this year. He wants to be the only one in his class. If you are the #1 at your position, and have worked incredibly hard to get there, you can make these type of "demands" out of recruiting schools. I have absolutely no problem with it, I am just stating that it looks pretty clear he will not come here if another QB commits.

If he is truly the best player. He shouldn't be afraid of competition. just a thought, but I see your point.

 

[Mirer3Powlus]

100% sure if Mauk commits to ND we are out in the eyes of Kiel. There is a lot of talk around Kiel that he has made it evident that he does not want to go into any program taking another QB this year. He wants to be the only one in his class. If you are the #1 at your position, and have worked incredibly hard to get there, you can make these type of "demands" out of recruiting schools. I have absolutely no problem with it, I am just stating that it looks pretty clear he will not come here if another QB commits.

I'm not going to pretend and say that I think Mauk is as good of a prospect as Kiel, but Mauk committing and Kiel looking elsewhere would be far from the worst thing in the world. It would stink to see Mauk go off to Mizzou or Cincy and then get CJ Leak'd by Kiel on National Signing Day (if he decides to wait that long). One top five quarterback prospect is surely better than none!

 

[Ironman8]

I'm not going to pretend and say that I think Mauk is as good of a prospect as Kiel, but Mauk committing and Kiel looking elsewhere would be far from the worst thing in the world. It would stink to see Mauk go off to Mizzou or Cincy and then get CJ Leak'd by Kiel on National Signing Day (if he decides to wait that long). One top five quarterback prospect is surely better than none!

Oh I agree with you completely. I would love either one, I think they both can be very good QBs at the next level, especially with BK's tutelage. If and when either one wanted to commit to us, I take it and run with it in a heartbeat and be very happy.