It has been a circuitous path. Kiel committed first to Indiana University, then to LSU, enrolled at Notre Dame and transferred to Cincinnati. He said he doesn't have regrets but conceded he would go back and change some things if he could.

"This is all part of God's journey for me," he said. "I believe good things are going to happen to good people. If I just keep being a good person and keep working hard and having that work ethic and intensity to get better, I'm going to achieve all my goals and dreams."

Prospects for Kiel seemed unlimited when he was the nation's top-ranked high school quarterback. Reality has been different.

Consider that if he takes a snap Sept. 12 against Toledo, he will have gone 1,029 days since playing in a football game. Or that his first college game will come at age 21. Or that Johnny Manziel, at 21, will be counting his millions and playing in his first NFL game.

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FILE - Gunner Kiel, from Columbus East High School, is the 2011 Mr. Football. Photo taken Wednesday, December 7, 2011.(Photo: Kelly Wilkinson / The Star)

Kiel doesn't go there, other than to acknowledge "it feels like forever" since he last played. He has settled into a state of contentment on this campus and in this city. His dormitory, Schneider Hall, is 89 miles from Columbus, Ind., but he said he rarely goes home.

He has made close friends, including roommate Lindsay Crook, a linebacker who once played for Australia's national rugby team. They congregate down the hall in the room of offensive lineman Garrett Campbell and play video games. They go to Reds baseball games.

Kiel sat out last season and could not travel with the Bearcats to road games, so he watched on his computer or TV and exchanged texts with other redshirts. For Halloween, he and five teammates dressed as elves to accompany offensive lineman Kyle Williamson, who dyed his beard white to resemble Santa Claus.

"Never had a bad day here yet. So far, so good," Kiel said. "I love this place."

On the other hand, there is no guarantee Kiel will be the starter. He faces a challenge from Jarred Evans, a junior college transfer who doesn't know the offense as well but has all summer to catch up.

Whatever the outcome, Kiel will be more prepared to navigate what's next than he was for the crush of recruiters. He said he "got sucked into" the fact that so many schools pursued him from around the country. He and his parents weighed pros and cons, and he leaned on brothers Drew and Dusty, who were quarterbacks at Illinois State and IU, respectively.

"It became overwhelming," Kiel said, causing him to over-analyze and second-guess decisions.

Gunner Kiel talks about reviving his college football career at Cincinnati.
David Woods / The Star

Drew Kiel said his brother didn't want to disappoint anyone. With so many options, that was impossible. After Gunner de-committed from IU, Drew said another group of schools renewed pursuit, and that only intensified the issue. Drew suggested that his brother didn't like the attention and wanted to get it over with.

It was such a foregone conclusion that Kiel was headed to LSU in January 2012 that a load of belongings was sent to Baton Rouge with a family friend. Drew said he doesn't think it hit his brother until the last minute just how far away that was. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly had never given up, and Gunner flipped to the Fighting Irish.

"It's hard being a player in the public eye," Drew said. "If one thing goes wrong, the media blow it out of proportion and then you're kind of 'that guy.' "

The family was bemused to read reports about the switch, including one that said the mother, Aleta, broke down crying and influenced Gunner to stay closer to home. Not true at all, Aleta said.

"If people need to say something like that, then, you know what? Fine. Whatever," she said. "We knew what's true. We knew what was happening."

The family knew first-hand the perils of college football. For instance, Illinois State went through two head coaches and four quarterbacks coaches while Drew was there. Dusty endured a coaching change at IU.

Arriving at Notre Dame didn't resolve the conflict roiling inside Gunner. A few days later, on signing day, LSU coach Les Miles said Kiel didn't have the "chest" to be an LSU quarterback. Indeed, Kiel said he reached his lowest point when he was at South Bend. Besides the bashing, he said, he hadn't made friends and "things started getting to my head."

He sat out as a redshirt when freshman Everett Golson led the Irish to a 12-0 regular season and the national championship game. But Kiel didn't participate in practice last spring, by then having decided that Notre Dame wasn't a fit. He didn't elaborate much, not even to his own family, on why he didn't want to remain there.

Cincinnati became a possibility not so much for its location as the rapport Kiel had built with Darrin Hinshaw, the Bearcats' quarterbacks coach. Hinshaw grew close to the Kiels while coaching at Tennessee, offering a scholarship after Gunner's sophomore season of high school.

Kiel gushed about Hinshaw, calling the coach a role model and someone he would "go to war with." Hinshaw attempted to reassure Kiel after the quarterback enrolled last summer.

"You saw that he came in and was a little broken. His spirit was down," Hinshaw said. "Trust levels weren't very high. So we had to build that trust."

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FILE - Columbus East High School's Gunner Kiel drops back for a pass as a Cathedral defender closes in. Indianapolis Cathedral High School hosted Columbus East High School varsity football Friday, November 18, 2011, in Semi-State action at North Central High School. Cathedral led Columbus East 27-90 at the half.(Photo: Doug McSchooler / For The Star)

Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville said Kiel won respect of teammates by arriving early for practice and staying late. Kiel was quarterback for the scout team last fall, passing to second- and third-team receivers. He wanted to blend in, deflect attention, talk little and work a lot. He benefited from extra practices last December when he ran the first-team offense ahead of the Belk Bowl as Brendon Kay recovered from injury.

Kiel was eager to play at Notre Dame but had a different outlook at Cincinnati. He watched older quarterbacks, studied film, learned the offense and refined an ability to read coverages. He even improved on what he said is his biggest weakness: parallel parking.

"To sit out a year, honestly, was probably the best thing I could do," he said. "It kept me out of the limelight. Nobody knew what I was doing or what time I was doing it. I was completely a normal student-athlete."

Drew agreed the long wait has strengthened Gunner and added a chip to that coveted right shoulder. At least that's what big brother is hoping. An element of arrogance would help, too, Drew said.

That does not necessarily coincide with Gunner's nature, although he said he watched other college quarterbacks on TV and felt he was better. His ultimate goal is to play in the NFL, as his uncle, Blair, did.

For now, Kiel said he wants to get on the field. He's getting closer, Tuberville said.

"It's his extra work and his personality that's going to allow him to be a success," the Cincinnati coach said. "Not just because he was a highly recruited player. That doesn't mean a hill of beans to me."