Cincinnati’s Tommy Tuberville on QB Gunner Kiel: ‘I don’t see him playing’
Cincinnati could be without starting quarterback Gunner Kiel when it plays Miami on the road Saturday.
Kiel, a sophomore, suffered bruised ribs in the 2-2 Bearcats’ blowout home loss to Memphis over the weekend. Per Cincinnati.com, head coach Tommy Tuberville said Tuesday that though Kiel did not break any ribs, his status for Saturday is not promising.
“I don’t see him playing,” Tuberville said. “He’s not much better than he was. I’m not going to put him out there if he’s not close to 100 percent.”
The injury occurred on the final play of the first half Saturday night. When Kiel went down, senior Munchie Legaux filled in in the second half.
Kiel, the top pro-style quarterback recruit in the 2012 class according to Rivals.com, made his long-awaited debut this season. During his recruitment, Kiel made commitments to Indiana and LSU before finally signing with Notre Dame. He redshirted his first year on campus with the Fighting Irish, then transferred to Cincinnati in spring 2013. After sitting out another season per NCAA transfer rules, Kiel was finally able to suit up for the Bearcats. Through four games, Kiel has played well, throwing for 1,257 yards, 15 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
With it looking like Kiel will be sidelined against the Hurricanes, Tuberville said that either Legaux or junior Jarred Evans will start at quarterback.
Legaux, in his fifth season with the program, has seen significant playing time throughout his career. He was the team’s starter in 2013, but went down with a serious knee injury in Week 2. In all, Legaux has appeared in 33 games in parts of five season, throwing for 2,904 yards and 20 touchdowns while also running for 652 yards and seven scores.
Evans, a junior college transfer, has just one pass attempt this year but he has five rushing attempts for 22 yards.
In addition to Kiel’s injury, Tuberville said leading rusher Hosey Williams will be out for “at least a month” with a knee injury. Williams has 140 yards on 26 carries for the Bearcats this season.
With Williams out for a few weeks and junior Tion Green (28 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD) out for the season, Tuberville said 5-foot-10, 176-pound senior Rod Moore will start at running back moving forward. On 16 carries this season, Moore has 69 yards and two scores.
For more Cincinnati news, visit BearcatReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
