Gunner Kiel was a five-star recruit coming out of Columbus East High School in Indiana. The Cincinnati Bearcats do not often get to pick five-star prospects off the shelf and they didn’t technically with Kiel.
Kiel originally committed to Indiana, then LSU, before ending up at Notre Dame. However, he decided to transfer due to a logjam at the QB position with the Fighting Irish. In the spring of 2013, Kiel announced that he would be coming to UC, citing his relationship with then quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw as a major reason.