Gunner Kiel Commits to Notre Dame, Spurns LSU

The Observer reported on Monday night that Kiel will early enroll at Notre Dame this week and will be living in O'Neill Hall for the school's second semester.

The shocking decision to enroll at Notre Dame comes only weeks after Kiel committed to LSU. Kiel, ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 quarterback in the nation, was actually expected to enroll at LSU this week before rumors began circling on Monday afternoon that he was wavering on his decision to attend the Baton Rouge school.

Irish Illustrated first reported on Monday that Kiel was reconsidering his decision and might actually enroll at Notre Dame instead of LSU. This was followed up by a report by Rivals.com's Mike Farrell, who reported that both Notre Dame and LSU believed that they would be getting Kiel to early enroll in their school.

This wouldn't be the first time that Kiel decided to decommit from a school and head elsewhere. The Indiana native initially committed to home state Indiana, where his older brother plays, but decided to decommit and head to LSU in late December.

Kiel, a pro-style quarterback, would likely compete right away in South Bend with incumbent starter Tommy Rees. Rees struggled at times during Notre Dame's past season, but is considered to be the favorite to start in 2012.

Landing Kiel is a major coup for Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. The team currently has the 21st best recruiting class in the nation, according to Rivals, but would likely jump a few spots in the next rankings with the Kiel commitment.

No one from the Kiel family has publicly commented on the rumors of his decommitment, but expect an official announcement sometime in the next day or so.