A little over a week after it was reported that Gunner Kiel would be transferring to Cincinnati, the move has officially come to fruition.
In a press release, head coach Tommy Tuberville announced that the quarterback has enrolled at the school and will join the football team for the 2013 season. Kiel, who announced last month that he was transferring from Notre Dame, will begin classes May 6.
Because of NCAA transfer rules, Kiel will be forced to sit out the 2013 season. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining beginning in 2014.
“We are very excited Gunner has decided to enroll at UC,” Tuberville said in his statement on the addition. “He’s a great talent and an even better person. He comes from a great family with some strong quarterback lineage. Our quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw has developed an outstanding relationship with Gunner. We are looking forward to getting him here and seeing what the future holds.”
The move to the Bearcats is the latest development in what’s been a roller coaster ride for Kiel over the past year and a half.
The No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2012, Kiel committed to Indiana in July of 2011 before decommitting three months later. In late December of that year, Kiel committed to LSU… only to get cold feet two weeks before National Signing Day, reportedly in large part to pleas from mom to stay closer to their Indiana home.
On Jan. 17, Notre Dame announced that Kiel was a member of its Class of 2012 as an early enrollee.
His true freshman season was spent practicing as part of the Irish’s scout team. Irish head coach Brian Kelly stated that he and his staff “had created an opportunity for him to compete in the spring” for the starting job, and was surprised by the departure.
In addition to Cincinnati, Kiel was also connected to Kansas State, Mississippi State and Ole Miss as well as MAC schools Ball State, Miami (Ohio) and Northern Illinois.