Quote:Written by Martin Rickman, link is here.

CINCINNATI — You may think you know who Gunner Kiel is, but chances are you have no idea. Most people only know him through passing stories and rumors. Those have defined him for years, even though he has yet to complete a pass at the college level.

“People see me as a cocky, arrogant kid who loves him some attention,” Kiel said. “That’s not it at all. I hate attention. I hate talking about myself. I am just a regular, normal young adult who loves football. I watch cartoons and movies and play video games. I hang out with my friends. I play basketball and go bowling. That’s just how I am. That’s how I was raised.”

It’s a 23-degree day in mid-March, and a wintry mix of rain and snow has given way to sunshine. The weather belies the fact that people are moving briskly from their cars to their destinations. Thanks to Cincinnati’s practice bubble, honest-to-goodness football is happening. Kiel is taking part in the Bearcats’ final practice before spring break.

Kiel looks like a big-time quarterback, and a few throws reveal why he was so sought after coming out of Columbus East (Ind.) High in 2012. Some guys need live-game situations to impress. Kiel, meanwhile, has potential written all over him.

It wasn’t long ago that Kiel was the top-rated pro-style quarterback in the recruiting class of 2012, according to Rivals.com. With prototypical size and arm strength, he had college coaches drooling. He held offers from Alabama, Florida and Michigan, among many other top programs, and appeared destined for greatness.

Just a couple of years later, most people know Kiel as the kid who couldn’t make up his mind. That discounts the fact that his story is still near the beginning.

RICKMAN: Which teams lead the way in the post-spring Power Rankings?

*****

Gunner Kiel was born into a football family. His uncle, Blair, who died in 2012, was the starting quarterback at Notre Dame from 1980-83 who spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. Gunner’s father, Kip, was a quarterback at Butler, and his brothers, Drew and Dusty, were quarterbacks at Illinois State and Indiana, respectively.

The Kiel brothers were so competitive growing up that they would often have to be separated, lest one hurt another. They played backyard football time and again, two on two, with Dusty and family friend Tyler Moore taking on Drew, the eldest, and Gunner, the youngest. Since Gunner was five years younger than Drew, they were at a natural disadvantage. Drew got frustrated because he wanted to win.

“It was definitely competitive around the house,” Kip said. “Fights would break out all the time. Aleta, my wife, would say, ‘Stop fighting,’ shut the door and wouldn’t let them come out until somebody was bleeding.”

As Gunner got older, he began to make a name for himself. He grew to 6-foot-4 and more than 200 pounds, and he threw for 2,500 yards with 25 touchdowns and rushed for 425 yards with six scores as a junior. That’s when the hype started to spread. In July 2011 he committed to Indiana, where he planned to join Dusty. (Dusty would later remain at the school but leave the football program.)

Yet after Indiana endured an abysmal 1-6 start to the 2011 campaign, Gunner reopened his recruitment. He took visits to LSU, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt before committing to the Tigers on Dec. 27. It appeared coach Les Miles had landed another prized prospect.

The marriage didn’t last long. Kiel realized he couldn’t handle the distance away from home and flipped to Notre Dame on Jan. 17, 2012. He admits to getting swept up in the fast-paced world of SEC recruiting, with his jersey in the locker, shiny facilities everywhere and the promise of championship rings. “They were laying out the red carpet and it got me excited,” Kiel said. “Who wouldn’t want to go there?”

Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville believes the business of recruiting can sometimes create situations where perception doesn’t align with reality. “There’s no doubt that these kids don’t really understand what they’re getting into,” Tuberville said.

After Signing Day, Miles took a not-so-subtle shot at Kiel during the school’s “Bayou Bash” for the Tiger Gridiron Club. LSU’s student newspaper, The Daily Reveille, posted the video online, and although Miles didn’t mention Kiel by name, it was easy to decode who he was talking about. “There was a gentleman from Indiana that thought about coming to the Bayou state [who] did not necessarily have the chest and the ability to lead a program,” Miles said.

The comment spread around, but Kiel doesn’t blame Miles for saying what he did. It was just another learning moment in a career quickly filling with them. “That’s just me being dumb again,” said Kiel. “When I called him and told him I wasn’t coming, I knew he was going to be angry. I know coach Miles. I have nothing but respect for him. I can’t get mad about that. I honestly probably would’ve done the same thing if a young, dumb kid was going to come to my school and he backed out that day and ended up at another school.”

Gunner Kiel
Gunner Kiel (11) was a five-star prospect coming out of Columbus East (Ind.) High in 2012. (AJ Mast/Icon SMI)
Notre Dame was supposed to be Kiel’s new home when he enrolled in the spring. That wasn’t the case. Kiel redshirted in 2012. He had trouble making friends. He struggled to learn the offense and was slotted behind redshirt freshman Everett Golson — who led the Fighting Irish to the ‘13 BCS title game against Alabama — and veteran Tommy Rees on the depth chart.

It wasn’t the right fit. Notre Dame wasn’t the haven Kiel envisioned. He changed his mind one more time, even though he hated the attention it brought with it.

“People bashing me for decisions, having bad practices, I just lost all confidence in myself,” Kiel said. “I wasn’t happy anymore. I didn’t really hang out with anybody. I stuck to myself. Especially being an early enrollee, when I’m supposed to be in high school and I’m watching kids in my high school having fun while I’m at Notre Dame.”

The decision to transfer to Cincinnati came in the spring of 2013. It was his first visit. He had a couple more trips scheduled, but opted to cancel them. Kiel had developed a prior relationship with quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw from Hinshaw’s time at Tennessee, and the fit made sense. The Bearcats’ top two quarterbacks, Munchie Legaux and Brendon Kay, were set to be seniors. Kiel would sit out in ’13 due to NCAA rules and have a chance to build his confidence before competing for the starting spot in ’14.

In short: Gunner Kiel would focus on school, football and getting back to being Gunner Kiel again.

“I don’t know what happened at Notre Dame,” said Tuberville, “but when [Kiel] came in he was pretty deflated.”

Golson was suspended from Notre Dame for the 2013 season for cheating on a test, but Kiel didn’t waver. His mind was made up. After a long and public saga — one that stretched from Bloomington to Baton Rouge to South Bend and beyond — he was finally ready to move on.

“It’s all in the past,” Kiel said. “I don’t know why people keep bringing it up. It’s over. People love to talk about it. But it’s old. It’s just going to force me to work even harder.”

ELLIS: A way-too-early breakdown of the 2014 Heisman Trophy contenders

*****

The small-town kid has learned to love the city. Gunner Kiel relishes the culture Cincinnati’s coaching staff has created, which emphasizes having fun rather than keeping a strictly business-like mentality. For the first time in years, the pressure and attention on Kiel are minimal. He noticed a change almost immediately.

“To sit out that year was probably the best thing for me,” Kiel said. “It just taught me a lot about myself and taught me I need to sit back and relax. Things are going to happen naturally. You just have to bust your butt and overcome adversity each day.”

This fall, Kiel will have the chance to write a different story than the ones that have already been written. He isn’t guaranteed to start, but he should be considered the frontrunner after spring practice. Juco transfer Jarred Evans is gifted but acclimating to the playbook. Legaux, who was granted an extra year of eligibility after suffering a gruesome knee injury in a loss to Illinois last September, has not fully recovered.

Kiel looked loose and confident on the practice field, joking around with teammates and calmly executing the two-minute drill. He dazzled in the Bearcats’ spring game on April 5, going 17-of-22 for 300 yards, including completions of 42, 46 and 47 yards.

Drew Kiel admired Gunner’s performance, but he also saw things Gunner needed to improve. Still, he believes his brother’s journey the past few years has shaped him as a person. “It’s not always about football,” Drew said. “It’s about can you take that criticism, can you persevere from it and really build your character? Football is only going to last so long. Experiences like that are going to carry over into his life later.”

Kip said the public has the wrong impression about his son. Gunner is the guy who gets a group of teammates together when they’re homesick, bringing them to his parents’ house and welcoming them into his family. He is the guy who is always playing — and, as roommate and Bearcats tight end Tyler Cogswell gleefully points out, losing in — Madden.

It might be easy to write off Kiel as another five-star prospect gone bust, but he has three years of eligibility remaining. The American Athletic Conference appears wide open following Louisville’s exit to the ACC and UCF quarterback Blake Bortles’ departure to the NFL. And after two games against MAC opponents Toledo and Miami (Ohio) to open the season, the Bearcats have a real opportunity to make some noise with a matchup at Ohio State on Sept. 27.

Given Kiel’s uncommon perspective, the next chapter of his story could take on a very different feel than the last one. Now, people will discuss his play rather than the decisions he made along the way.

“It’s up to me what my destiny is going to be,” Kiel said. “I understand what happened in the past is always going to be a part of [me]. It’s overcoming that and focusing on myself, my family, my teammates, my faith and school. That’s all I have to focus on. With that, good things are going to happen.”

Nice article... hope the kid can learn from his past and using that help the Bearcat football team and UC brand.

Miles isn't the first SEC coach to turn foul-mouth; although Miles does it the most.

Hope to see Kiel perform up to his potential the next three years and help bring home some conference championship hardware, bowl victories and national rankings.

Worst case, like to see him give his best and represent the Bearcats on and off the field.

His arm is absurd. I know it was just a spring game but the velocity is unlike anything I've seen from a Bearcat (I'm too young to have seen Cook).

Nice find TBP - I'm really looking forward to seeing what Kiel can do in game action.

Good article. Seems Kiel is happy at UC. He looked very good in the Spring Game. Hope it translates to success in the regular season.

This is probably what it takes to succeed as a coach, but Les Miles sounds like a real @$$ clown.

I'm trying not to get too excited but UC football could be very special the next few years with Kiel under center and TT on the sidelines. It couldn't come at a better time for the program with all the conference turmoil.

(05-15-2014 10:55 AM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  This is probably what it takes to succeed as a coach, but Les Miles sounds like a real @$$ clown.

I agree - that is not the kind of thing a grown man says about a high school kid, unless he is a real ahole.

Tough to remember but these are KIDS, they aren't getting paid for what they do and they don't owe people anything.

When college sports became all about the money - for coaches, for schools, for media outlets, for advertisers and legions of others who profit from college sports - everyone started to forget that nothing changed for the athletes. They are still the same unpaid people playing their hearts out the same way they did in the era before billion dollar athletics profits.

So you get some ******* coach who makes over 10 million a year feeling like he is entitled to publicly malign and question the makeup of a 18 year old kid who hasn't even finished high school.

Kiel is being gracious - Miles deserved to have his as$ kicked for that comment.

(05-15-2014 04:02 PM)Eastside_J Wrote:  

(05-15-2014 10:55 AM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  This is probably what it takes to succeed as a coach, but Les Miles sounds like a real @$$ clown.

I agree - that is not the kind of thing a grown man says about a high school kid, unless he is a real ahole.

Tough to remember but these are KIDS, they aren't getting paid for what they do and they don't owe people anything.

When college sports became all about the money - for coaches, for schools, for media outlets, for advertisers and legions of others who profit from college sports - everyone started to forget that nothing changed for the athletes. They are still the same unpaid people playing their hearts out the same way they did in the era before billion dollar athletics profits.

So you get some ******* coach who makes over 10 million a year feeling like he is entitled to publicly malign and question the makeup of a 18 year old kid who hasn't even finished high school.

Kiel is being gracious - Miles deserved to have his as$ kicked for that comment.

Damn, that was well said!

"Some guys need live-game situations to impress. Kiel, meanwhile, has potential written all over him." OK, count me as one whose excitement level just rose a notch. Nice read.

another Gunner Kiel piece


http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/778...iel#!T7Jam

#3 Impact QB transfer


1. Jacob Coker, Alabama (from Florida State)
2. Jacoby Brissett, N.C. State (from Florida)
3. Gunner Kiel, Cincinnati (from Notre Dame)

Rated by many as the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the class of 2012, Kiel has an opportunity to shine for the Bearcats, who have been left out of the Power Five conferences but are one of a handful of favorites for the Group of Five's automatic bid to one of the major bowl games in the playoff rotation. He's surrounded by talented players, including an All-America candidate at left tackle in Eric Lefeld, plus a solid, experienced group of backs and receivers. Cincinnati is a pretty stable place to land for someone who's yet to settle into a starting role and has been through so many ups and downs without even seeing the field, and while he'll be thrown into the fire early with first-half road trips to Ohio State and Miami, if he develops as expected he can have the Bearcats in position to win the American Athletic Conference. As just a redshirt sophomore, he still has a lot of time to establish himself as the top pro prospect everyone thought he could become.

if/until Kiel actually does something a real game against real D1 teams I'm not impressed....all this hype is great but it means nothing. If the kid was that great he'd be starting for Notre Dame, am I right or wrong?

You are wrong. There is a possibility he could be the Notre Dame starter had he stayed there and won the starting spot with Golson suspended last year.

Yea... not believing in Kiel because he didn't manage to win the Notre Dame starting job as a true freshman seems a bit harsh. Clearly no QB is proven until they hit the field, but I am absolutely stoked to see what he can do.

There is plenty to be impressed about. There is a lot of hype for a reason, and that is his physical ability and pure talent.

I admit he looked good in the spring game and has a great attitude...just sayin' that until he does something in real games I will reserve my enthusiasm.

It's never too early for a little enthusiasm. When's the last time a UC QB got any love?

I agee though that we'll find out if it's hype or real once the season starts. If he gets us to 4-1 after the first 5 games (Toledo, OSU, Miami (OH), Memphis and Miami (FL)), then we'll know he's the real deal because the final 7 games we could/should win.

At least we have something positive to talk about at QB this year.

Those steeped in UC football history correct me if I'm wrong--isn't he the most highly rated QB recruit ever to take the field @ UC?

He probably is as I don't know just how highly rated Greg Cook was.