Miami Hurricanes OT Target Payton Kirkland Previews Commitment
In this story:
Photo: Payton Kirkland; Credit: Zach Goodall
Dr. Phillips Orlando (Fla.) four-star offensive tackle Payton Kirkland’s recruitment has been one with many twists and turns.
Kirkland, the On3 consensus' No. 298 recruit in the nation will make his decision publicly on July 23, with Miami, Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama and Michigan State listed as his finalists. Besides Alabama, the other aforementioned schools received an official visit from Kirkland. Here is a timeline of those visits.
Alabama (Unofficial): June 1
Oklahoma: June 3-5
Florida: June 10-12
Michigan State: June 17-19
Miami: June 20-22
Michigan State and Florida were once considered to be the teams to watch to land Kirkland’s commitment. Since, Miami and Alabama have become two schools to watch for alongside the Spartans. Alabama has come on late in Kirkland’s recruitment and Nick Saban can be a hard coach to turn down.
“Alabama is making a pretty hard late push,” Kirkland said.
Despite the late push by the Crimson Tide, the Hurricanes are still in the thick of the recruitment for one of the top prospects in Orlando. Miami offensive tackle commit Francis Mauigoa has voiced his wishes for Kirkland to play next to him at Miami.
Kirkland and head coach Mario Cristobal’s relationship goes back to his time at Oregon and for that reason, it has Miami in a good position to land his commitment.
“The offensive line is the priority [at Miami] and they’ve constantly made me feel like a priority from the time they were at Oregon all the way till this morning,” Kirkland said on Monday. “They want me to come in and be a true leader and be able to make an impact on the team early from a team standpoint, a spiritual and leadership standpoint.”
Regarding Florida and Oklahoma, both schools are high on Kirkland’s choices, but it’s shaping up to be a race between Michigan State, Miami and Alabama.
Kirkland plans to recruit for whichever school he commits to, but he’s not into bringing guys in because of stars or rankings. He’s more into recruiting high-character young men that can help contribute on the field, but are also right fits for the program.
“You know, it’s on the record,” Kirkland said. “If you’re going to commit to a school, you also got to commit to making sure you get the right type of guys in there.”
While many enjoy the recruiting process and the spotlight it puts on young athletes, Kirkland is more than ready to be done with the process and is glad his decision is coming sooner rather than later.
“It’s a very stressful process for a 16, 17, 18-year-old child,” Kirkland said. “There’s grown men that have been within this game for so long that they understand how to use wordplay, get information out of you and get you to say things. It’s a lot. You know, I’ve taken months at a time away from recruiting where I just didn’t talk to anyone.”
Whichever school that lands Kirkland’s signature will be getting a high-motor and high-character athlete that can provide instant size and depth to any team’s offensive line.
AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.