Gunner Kiel commits to Indiana

Submitted by Dreisbach1817 on

Possibly the biggest football recruiting commitment in Indiana history.  Will make the "Leaders" division very interesting in the next 4 years.

JC Shurburtt- Nation's top quarterback Gunner Kiel commits to #Indiana per @SWiltfong247

This reminds me of when Tim Couch commited to Kentucky.  Can anyone think of a top 1 or 2 national QB going to a similar program?

Summoner10

July 27th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^

I don't think it'll change much in how IU football is perceived or what it achieves but it'll atleast be good for the program getting more attention then normal, if Gunner pans out as a top player.  Even if he does become a great player he'll still be guarded by a terrible Oline and tossing to MAC level wideouts.

bdsisme

July 27th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^

Wow, I give this kid a ton of props for following his heart.  Everyone loves to root for the underdog, but they hardly ever win.  Today, Indiana beats out Oklahoma, Alabama, and Michigan (among others).  Congrats to Indiana, and Kiel has all my respect for his moxie.

go16blue

July 27th, 2011 at 3:32 PM ^

So I see that UM plays Indiana in 2013 and 2014 (Kiel's sophmore and junior, or RS freshman and RS sophmore years). Does anyone know the big ten's scheduling system and how it applies to cross division games? That is, would we still play Indiana the next two years, or would they rotate off of our schedule? Because, even though I think we would still beat them, I don't like the idea of playing Kiel for 4 straight years.

profitgoblue

July 27th, 2011 at 4:46 PM ^

Here's my reasoning:

1.  He's a rival of Tom Brady, so that's one negative.

2.  I implicate him in Tennessee's outcry about Woodson winning the Heisman over Manning.  (Guilty by association even though Manning never really complained.)

3.  He's a goofy-looking dude.

Those are my reasons and I'm sticking to them!

 

goblue7612

July 27th, 2011 at 5:06 PM ^

As a Colts fan, I absolutely can't stand Tom Brady. I still believe that he is a product of the Belichick system where somehow they cobble together a bunch of middling veterans and somehow win championships. Hate it. Can't stand Belichick either, stop your spying and wearing of goofy sweatshirts.

P.S. Tom Brady isn't that good looking either, I don't care what Bridget or Gisele think.

profitgoblue

July 27th, 2011 at 5:11 PM ^

If there are any Mods closely monitoring this thread, I hereby nominate goblue7612 for a month-long ban from the Board.  This is as blantant a case of blasphemy as I've seen.  If only because he's clearly lying when he says that Brady is not good looking.  I would totally do him! (/not gay)

 

goblue7612

July 27th, 2011 at 5:48 PM ^

I call shenanigans! He must've had plastic surgery over the years. His butt chin has completely disappeared. A truly beautiful man would not need plastic surgery, this is not the kind of person we should be looking up to. But please, no month long ban, I'd be subjected to a world of pure hell and work.

Volverine

July 27th, 2011 at 3:36 PM ^

I came in here fully expecting this to be a joke. Wow. Great pickup for IU. Hopefully they win all their crossover games against MSU with this guy

Lac55

July 27th, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^

I like it. Since he wasn't coming to Michigan anyway, no point of being sour about it. I'm all for strengthening the B10 and Indiana to my knowledge has always been a bottom feeder. I know the SEC is #1 but if schools like Indiana, Illinois, & Minnesota started bringing in big time recruits and producing on the field we could close the gap. Good get for them.

True Blue Grit

July 27th, 2011 at 3:40 PM ^

But even a player as good as Kiel can't turn around a program like Indiana by himself.  They're' still Indiana.  I certainly won't quake in my boots until I see them picking up 4* offensive linemen, RB's, receivers, and defensive players as well.

Don

July 27th, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^

and those other things led to his selection of Indiana.

Whatever the reason, I find it sort of refreshing that he chose a comparative nobody instead of the normal choice of some big football power.

mackbru

July 27th, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^

I applaud the kid. It's really cool when a blue-chip recruit goes against the grain, defies the big boys, and picks the school dearest to him, despite that school's unimpressive track record. The kid obviously embraces a challenge. And it's damn near impossible to hate IU's football team, which we'll only see once or twice anyway.

bacon1431

July 27th, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^

Good get for Indiana. Not sure if this makes them relevant though. QB play really hasn't been a big problem in Bloomington the past few years: Kellen Lewis was a playmaker and Chappell was pretty decent.

ATLalumni

July 27th, 2011 at 3:49 PM ^

staying in the Big Ten.  Saturday games will be great in a few years when we have Gardner/Morris, Kiel throwing for indiana, Miller at OSU, Starling at Nebraska (if he stays), Gray at Minnesota, etc.  Who wouldn't kill to watch top draft picks duke it out every weekend in the Big Ten.

turd ferguson

July 27th, 2011 at 3:51 PM ^

I'm not as surprised by this as some of you. His reluctance to open up at all during the recruiting process suggested that the lights night be too bright for him at a Michigan, Oklahoma, or Alabama. Good luck to him and congrats to IU.

UM Indy

July 27th, 2011 at 4:07 PM ^

Let me get this straight. Because he was quiet during his recruitment process, i.e. didn't pimp himself at every opportunity and/or change his mind 10 times, he's scared of the "big lights" at big time college football programs. Disagree.

turd ferguson

July 27th, 2011 at 5:51 PM ^

I didn't say he's scared and I find him refreshing as a big-time recruit. My point is just that if anonymity and privacy are important to him, he's probably smart not to step into one of the highest-profile positions in all of sports (UM/OU/Bama QB).

markusr2007

July 27th, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^

but Kevin Wilson had my attention already while coaching Zak Kustok at Northwestern under Randy Walker. Now getting this Gunner Kiel commitment is really big for the new program.

Honestly, has Indiana EVER landed a number 1 ranked position recruit? And don't say TB Anthony Thompson or QB Babe Laufenberg.

Wilson is a good coach and should do some damage for the Hoosiers over time.. He'll certainly have Indiana fans scratching their heads about the all time spent dwindling with Cameron, DiNardo, Hoeppner and Lynch.

 

Rumsey87

July 27th, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^

A coach who helped turn freshman-Denard into sophomore-First-Team-All-American Denard is one of the best college QB coaches on the planet. 

As a Michigan college football fan, I do not measure the quality of a coach based on how players do after the leave Michigan.  I'll take Dennis Franklin, Ricky Leach, and Denard Robinson over Jeff George every day.

dahblue

July 27th, 2011 at 3:55 PM ^

This is pretty cool.  He'll improve the IU program, which will only make the B1G stronger.  And...Sparty's cakewalk "rivalry" game just got a little tougher.

XxNoRemorsExX

July 27th, 2011 at 4:04 PM ^

This is the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of a top flite QB recruit pledges to Indiana when he could have written his ticket anywhere.

You'll have to substitute Indiana for Delaware.

 

DPUblue

July 27th, 2011 at 4:04 PM ^

Kevin Wilson...New IU head coach and former OC of Oklahoma.  He helped generate some pretty farkin good offenses and coached Sam Bradford (3* recruit) into one of the best QB's in OU history.  It seems odd to say, but looking back at OU offensive recruiting on rivals, and the star rankings don't exactly match up with the offensive numbers they produced...  

 

No doubt, Kevin Wilson is a good coach and along with having his brother there, probably made Gunner's decision.  

 

All that being said.......It still is IU......

sheepdog

July 27th, 2011 at 4:07 PM ^

I gotta say, it would be great to have him at Michigan, were he to commit to us, but if he would have, I would be disappointed in some way.  With Denard with 2 years left, Deven with 4 years left and Shane coming in in 2 years, I would be diappointed because someone was going to sit. 

We have a lot of talent at QB for the next 6 years....that is all I am getting at.