So much for everything being calm on the Notre Dame football front.
Irish Sports Daily first broke the story that Gunner Kiel would transfer from the Irish and later the Observer had sources confirm that Kiel had cleaned out his locker. At this time, there is no official word from Notre Dame or the athletic department. There also is no word on where Kiel plans on transferring to as well.
Honestly, this is isn’t at all surprising. Since the 2012 season, many Irish fans have discussed if one of the current Irish QBs would do just this. With Golson seemingly having the starting job locked down, veterans Rees and Hendrix as backups, and top recruit Malik Zaire enrolled early, there is quite a crowd fighting for playing time at QB. Add on the fact that Golson also has three years of eligibility left and Kiel is starting at the possibility of having only one year to start at QB barring an injury or serious decline by Golson.
While I would’ve loved a dream scenario of being able to transition from Golson to Kiel and then to Zaire, I can’t blame Kiel for wanting a shot at better playing time. Thankfully, Kiel’s departure doesn’t cripple the Irish and makes Kelly strategy of going after a QB in every recruiting class seem all the wiser. Needless to say, I’m not exactly terrified at the potential of three more years of Golson followed by two years of Zaire.
Best of luck to Gunner in the future, where ever that may be. Unlike Les Miles, we here at HLS definitely think you have the chest to handle the reins of a top program.
Texan by birth, Irish by choice.
First-generation Domer and a former student manager, HLS podcast host, HLS Sim creator, Extra Life streamer, and technical problem haver. You can find more non-Notre Dame related writing on his Patreon.
- Epilogue - January 3, 2022
- HLS Podcast Finale - January 2, 2022
- The Final Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State NCAA ’14 Sim - December 31, 2021
According to my sauces, Tennessee, Cincinnati and Ball State are the leading candidates. Two places NOT to look for him to go? Indiana and LSU. Perhaps that second one is a no-brainer.
Good luck, Gunner. I hope things work out for you for the best.
I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if Gunner went to LSU to begin with. Seems like a far better situation for someone seriously concerned about starting early.
Coach kelly’s comments say it best. He recruits to bring in guys to compete for starting time. The players themselves are the best judges. I think Kiel knows that Everett is very good and getting better, and Zaire is an even faster version of Everett, so realistically Gunnars chances of starting are low.
Good luck to him and best wishes. Go lead Ball State to a 10 win season!
If he does go to good ol BSU there needs to be a post with the classic Hardin/Diaco ESPN mix-up. I think we can blame Hardin for this one way or another.
Memo To Kelly:
Don’t recruit pro style QBs when your system calls for dual threat QBs. Didn’t we go through this before with Kent Graham and Tony Rice? Only recruit the guys who can beat you with their arm and legs.
Too bad. I thought he had a good chance at playing time. Golson is good, but not unbeatable by a guy that is 6′ 4″ 200+ with a reported strong arm and accurate.